A flood of celebrities, including Cuba Gooding Jr., Bill Cosby, and Jamie Foxx, were served with newly filed sexual assault lawsuits this week.
The complaints were filed under the state of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which took effect in November 2022 and eliminated the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases for one year. The law expired at midnight on Friday, Nov. 24.
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx was sued in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday, Nov. 22, for an alleged sexual assault on the rooftop of a New York City bar in 2015, according to the lawsuit obtained by People.
The lawsuit was filed by an unidentified woman, who said she was allegedly assaulted after meeting Foxx at Catch NYC. The suit claimed Foxx took the woman to a secluded area of the bar and “placed both of his hands on her waist, moved them under her ‘crop top’ and began rubbing her breasts.”
In a statement on Thursday, Nov. 23, Foxx denied the woman’s allegations. “The alleged incident never happened,” the actor said through a representative.
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Two new lawsuits were filed against Cuba Gooding Jr. in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday as well. The two women claimed the actor groped them in separate incidents in New York City in 2018 and 2019, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A rep. for Gooding did not immediately respond to the paper’s request for comment.
In June 2023, the Oscar winner settled a civil lawsuit with a woman who alleged he raped her at a New York City hotel in 2013. The settlement was announced moments before jury selection was supposed to start in Manhattan federal court.
Meanwhile, an unidentified woman who worked as a stand-in on The Cosby Show filed a lawsuit against Bill Cosby on Tuesday, Nov. 21, alleging the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.
In the lawsuit obtained by the Associated Press, the woman said Cosby invited her to his home. The lawsuit said the accuser agreed to meet privately with Cosby for an acting exercise.
The woman said she blacked out after drinking wine she believed had been laced with drugs. The lawsuit said she woke up “partially undressed and vomiting into a toilet.”
A spokesperson for Cosby said accusers have been using the New York law to target wealthy celebrities.
“When will it stop and who will be the next man to be victimized by these look-back windows?” Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said in a statement to the AP.
Cosby, 86, has been sued by more than 60 women over the years claiming they were assaulted or raped by the legendary comedian.
The allegations led to Cosby being labeled as a sexual predator, and he was convicted in 2018 for sexual assault in Pennsylvania. The TV legend was released from prison in 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction on a technicality.
In June 2023, nine women filed a lawsuit against Cosby alleging they were sexually assaulted between 1979 and 1992 in hotel rooms, homes, and dressing rooms across Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Related Story: Bill Cosby Found Liable in California Trial for Sexually Assaulting Teenager in 1975
Just before the the Adult Survivors Act expired, three women sued music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, including R&B singer Casandra Ventura, known to fans as Cassie.
Combs privately settled with Cassie on Nov. 17, one day after she filed her lawsuit.
However, an attorney for the Bad Boy Records founder said his client maintains his innocence.
“Mr. Combs’ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best,” the attorney said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, more than 3,700 lawsuits were filed under the Adult Survivors Act. Other celebrities accused in legal claims before the act expired include L.A. Reid, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Steven Tyler, Russell Brand, Axl Rose, Mike Tyson, and former Grammy Awards CEO Neil Portnow.
