The Hollywood actor Ashley Judd has filed a defamation and sexual harassment lawsuit against the film producer Harvey Weinstein, alleging that he damaged her career after she refused his sexual advances.
The lawsuit, reviewed by Reuters, alleges Weinstein “was retaliating against Ms Judd for rejecting his sexual demands approximately one year earlier, when he cornered her in a hotel room under the guise of discussing business”.
Judd was one of the first women, in October 2017, to make an on-the-record allegation of sexual misconduct against Weinstein, which soon afterwards evolved into the #MeToo social media movement against sexual harassment and assault.
Judd, a leading member of the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment in the workplace, is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.