A federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed actress Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment claim against movie producer Harvey Weinstein, but says that Judd could proceed with a defamation claim. Grace Lee reports.
Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment suit against Harvey Weinstein has been thrown out.
A federal judge in LA on Wednesday (January 9) ruled that Judd’s relationship as an actress with the Hollywood producer was not covered under California law.
However, he’s also said that Judd could go proceed with her claims for defamation.
In her suit filed last April, Judd accused Weinstein of smearing her reputation in 1998 after she refused what she said were his sexual advances.
The lawsuit alleges that he cornered her in a hotel room under the guise of discussing business.
She says he retaliated by making ‘baseless smears’ against her, which she then claims cost her a role in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” series.
Judd was one of the first women, in October 2017, to make on-the-record allegations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein, which soon afterwards evolved into the online “#MeToo” movement.
Since then, the Oscar-winning producer has been accused of harassment by more than 70 women.
Weinstein is set to stand trial in New York later this year on five charges, including rape, involving two other women.
He’s denied all accusations of sexual assault, saying any sexual encounters were consensual.
