Toronto actress seeks to sue Weinstein

TORONTO • A Toronto actress is seeking to launch a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, alleging the film producer sexually assaulted her in his hotel room about 17 years ago.

On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Todd Archibald ordered a hearing for next week to decide whether the actress can pursue the lawsuit without revealing her identity.

In a proposed statement of claim, the actress, identified only as Jane Doe, alleges Weinstein sexually assaulted her twice in the summer of 2000, when she was in her early 20s, while she was in Toronto working on her first film — which was produced by Weinstein’s then-company, Miramax.

The woman’s allegations come as Weinstein, a film mogul, faces a slew of sexual harassment allegations from dozens of women.

Court documents state Weinstein approached Jane Doe on set and chatted with her. In a call the next day, Weinstein’s then-assistant, identified as Barbara Schneeweiss, told her the producer watched clips of her performance and thought she “really stood out.”

Schneeweiss arranged a meeting at a Toronto hotel. But when Doe arrived, Schneeweiss told her Weinstein was on a call, and took her to the producer’s suite.

After “several minutes” of discussing Doe’s career, Weinstein dismissed his assistant. He then allegedly invited Doe on a tour of his suite. The documents allege that once in the bedroom, Weinstein forced her onto the bed and took out his penis.

“He told Doe that he had made various famous actresses’ careers and could make Doe’s career as well,” reads the statement of claim.

He allegedly pulled down her skirt, held her by the wrists and, despite her saying “No” several times, “forcibly performed oral sex on her without her consent.” Doe said she broke free and escape the hotel room.

The woman said she eventually answered one of several phone calls from Weinstein, who asked her to return so he could explain the “misunderstanding.” Fearing he could destroy her film career, she obliged. At the hotel, Weinstein allegedly begged her back into his room, where he “threw his weight onto her and tried to stick his tongue down her throat.”

The allegations have not been proven in court.

According to the statement of claim, the woman is seeking $14 million in damages — $4 million from Weinstein, $4 million from both Miramax and the Walt Disney Company, and $2 million from Schneeweiss.

A spokesperson for Weinstein, Holly Baird, said Tuesday that, “any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”