HEAD-ON CRASH
Oscar winner Paul Haggis raped me, publicist claims Director denies charge, says she sought $9M hush money
OSCAR-WINNING director Paul Haggis is battling with a woman who claims he raped her in 2013 — filing a lawsuit against her and saying she threatened to go public with the allegations if he didn’t pay her $9 million in hush money.
He filed the lawsuit Friday hours before Haleigh Breest, a Manhattan publicist, filed her own suit that claims he raped her inside his apartment after the pair met at a premiere party for the film “Side Effects” in 2013.
Breest, who was then 26, says Haggis offered her a ride home but instead drove her to his SoHo apartment, according to her court documents.
She followed him up, afraid, she says, that he would use his power and influence in Hollywood to derail her career.
Haggis forced himself on her, asking her in a “menacing and intimidating” voice if she was afraid of him, according to the lawsuit. Breest felt “trapped” because the only way out of Haggis’ penthouse was by calling an elevator with a wall button inside the apartment. She was “sure he would stop any attempt” to leave, the suit claims.
Haggis brought her into a bedroom and forcefully removed her tights and then forced her to perform oral sex on him before he raped her, the suit says.
She blacked out during the assault and woke up hours later in severe pain, the suit says. In the years since, she’s been unable to have any intimate relationships and a psychologist later diagnosed her with PTSD, the suit claims.
She is asking for unspecified damages in the lawsuit.
Haggis says the assault never happened and that Breest is trying to blackmail him with false allegations.
His lawsuit says that in the past month — as a wave of sex-assault accusations have rocked Hollywood and Washington — her lawyer contacted him, demanding a seven-figure settlement or she would file a complaint against him.
Then, during a call Monday, her lawyer demanded a $9 million payment to avoid a lawsuit, he alleges.
“The clear goal of (the woman’s) demand for such an absurd amount of money from (Haggis) is to scare him into giving this windfall to her to avoid his public hanging,” his court papers say.
Haggis, who wrote and directed the Academy Award-winning film “Crash,” said he has known Breest for years, interacting with her at film-industry events. Breest has worked as a publicist for a company that hosts events for clients in the movie business.
The lawsuit said Haggis and she “developed what (Haggis) believed was a friendly, and at times flirtatious, relationship.” In her own suit, Breest said she barely interacted with Haggis.
The “Million Dollar Baby” screenwriter says in his lawsuit that the alleged act of violence never happened, noting that at the time of the incident he was recovering from back surgery.
The lawsuit says that in the current climate, accusations of sexual misconduct “pour down like rain every day.” Haggis also says he is all for giving voice to women who have been victims of sexual misconduct.
“However, on the darker side, this maelstrom of media attention, coupled with the immediate guilty verdict from the court of public opinion and the utter and complete damnation of anyone accused of any sexual misconduct, has created an opportunity for persons whose motives and intentions are not so pure, and who are looking for a ride on this cultural wave to take advantage of person at the center of this narrative,” the lawsuit says.
Aside from winning Hollywood’s most coveted award several times, Haggis has drawn fame for being critical of Scientology.
“(Haggis), who is also known for voicing his negative views about Scientology, of which he was once a member, has many times been on the receiving line of false accusations about him,” the lawsuit says.
“He is not going to allow the false narrative threatened by the defendant to frighten him into capitulating to these outrageous and wholly baseless demands.” Haggis’ lawyer declined to comment.