Cuba Gooding Jr. is facing two new sexual assault lawsuits
Cuba Gooding Jr. is facing two new lawsuits related to separate groping incidents dating back to 2018 and 2019.
The lawsuits were filed Wednesday, Nov. 22, under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act, which took effect on Thanksgiving Day 2022 and gave plaintiffs one year to bring civil sexual assault claims that would otherwise not meet the statute of limitations .
In one pack, according to The Los Angeles Times, an unnamed accuser claims Gooding shoved his tongue down her throat while she was on duty as a waitress at LAVO nightclub in New York. Gooding pleaded guilty last year to a lesser charge of forcible touching in connection with the same incident.
A woman was named in the second lawsuit, according to the Times Kelsey Herbert claims Gooding touched her thighs and breasts after she approached a table where he was sitting with his girlfriend and joined the couple to talk. Harbert states in the lawsuit that her behavior made her feel ‘like a piece of meat’. Gooding also previously pleaded guilty to a lesser criminal charge in connection with that incident, admitting to “non-consensual physical contact.”
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The plea deal Gooding made in the criminal trial for both incidents allowed him to avoid prison, instead requiring six months of counseling. In a statement provided to Deadline, Gloria Allred, the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the new lawsuits, said: “Our clients were deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case. They now seek justice and accountability in their civil cases. We are proud of their courage and intend to fight vigorously for them until they receive the justice they deserve.”
Both women are seeking unspecified damages for assault and battery; emotional, physical and mental problems; lost wages; and attorney fees.
The lawsuits are just the latest in a series of sexual abuse allegations the Oscar-winning actor has faced in recent years. In June, he reached a settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her twice in a Soho hotel room in 2013. And as the 2020 groping trial unfolded, dozens of women came forward with stories of unwanted touching by Gooding; ultimately the list of accusers reached 30.
We weekly has contacted Gooding’s attorney for comment.