Ashley Judd’s Sexual Harassment Claim Against Harvey Weinstein Dismissed
A Los Angeles judge has dismissed Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment claim against Harvey Weinstein, Variety reports. It’s the second time her sexual harassment claim has been dismissed. The remainder of the case, which includes defamation and retaliation claims against the producer, can still proceed.
Last April, the actress filed a lawsuit against Weinstein, accusing him of sexual harassment and defamation and alleged that Weinstein spread “false and malicious statements” about Judd to Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. “The pathetic reality, however, was that 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’s attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. wrote in the lawsuit.
In September, Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled that because Judd and Weinstein did not have a professional relationship established at the time, Judd could not claim sexual harassment. However, Gutierrez allowed for Judd to amend her complaint on the sexual harassment claim and she was also allowed to continue with her other claims against Weinstein.
Since then, an amended California sexual harassment law added directors and producers among professionals covered by the law and Judd’s lawyers argued for the amended legislation to be applied retroactively. However, the judge held that the new law does not apply to Judd’s case.
“Nothing about today’s ruling changes that Ms. Judd’s case is moving forward on multiple claims. The Court today dismissed only one of Ms. Judd’s four claims of relief. In doing so, it made clear that it was not determining whether Ms. Judd was sexually harassed in the colloquial sense of the term,” Judd’s attorney told E! News in a statement. “It even acknowledged that the common meaning of the words in the statute would encompass her professional relationship with Mr. Weinstein. Nevertheless, the Court ruled that the statute does not apply here. While we respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision as to the one claim it ruled on today, we look forward to pursuing the three claims for relief that the Court has already ruled can move forward.”
Weinstein’s rep told E! News in a statement: “We have said from the beginning that this claim was unjustified, and we are pleased that the court saw it as we did, and we will ultimately prevail on her remaining claims.”