Cuba Gooding Jr. to Surrender to Police Over Groping Claims

Cuba Gooding Jr (Credit: Shutterstock)

Cuba Gooding Jr. has spoken out publicly for the first time about a woman’s claims that he inappropriately touched her at a New York City bar.

In an interview Tuesday night with TMZ, Gooding Jr. insisted he is “absolutely not” guilty.

“There’s a tape that shows what really happened — that’s the most important thing,” he told a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport.

Pressed about what exactly happened, the Oscar-winning actor gave his side of the story.

“I was at the club, I left. I met a bunch of people, I said hello, I took pictures and, you know, you have to have faith in what people are saying,” he said.

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He then seemingly referenced the #MeToo movement.

“In this time and age, we have to let people speak for themselves,” he said. “Now I’m giving the process the chance to show what went down.”

“I believe in the system and let the process speak for itself,”  he added.

The woman filed a police report alleging Gooding Jr. touched her breasts Sunday night during an encounter at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge near Times Square. The NYPD’s Special Victims Division is investigating the alleged incident and is in the process of reviewing video from the bar, NBC News reported.

According to reps for Gooding Jr., he plans to turn himself in to New York police on Thursday.