A series of high-profile figures in Hollywood are being sued ahead of a deadline to file lawsuits under a New York law that suspended time constraints on claims involving allegations of sexual misconduct for one year.
At the top of the list of defendants who are expected to be sued or were named in complaints filed on Wednesday in New York’s state Supreme Court: Axl Rose, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jamie Foxx and Jimmy Iovine. On Tuesday, Bill Cosby was also sued in another suit from a woman claiming she was drugged and sexually assaulted in the 1980s by the actor.
Plaintiffs, who typically would’ve been constrained from suing under the statute of limitations, have been taking advantage of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which revived the window to bring sexual misconduct claims for one year. It closes at midnight on Thursday. This month, suits were filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, music mogul L.A. Reid and ex-Grammys CEO Neil Portnow.
In her suit, former model Sheila Kennedy accuses Rose of raping her in 1989 in a violent encounter with the Guns N’ Roses frontman. After he trapped her in his hotel room, Rose “forcibly penetrat[ed] Kennedy’s anus with his penis,” making “no attempt to ask for or check that Kennedy was consenting,” according to the complaint.
Kennedy, who says she’s been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, claims her career as an actress and model have been damaged because of the assault.
The complaint against Gooding Jr. stems from charges the actor faced in 2019 over groping or forcibly kissing three women that ended with him pleading guilty to a single count of harassment but serving no jail time. Two of the accusers are now taking him to court. Jasmine Abbay claims Gooding Jr. forcibly kissed her, while Kelsey Harbert alleges that he groped her breast. They seek damages for emotional distress and lost wages, among other things.
Foxx, meanwhile, was accused of groping in 2015 a woman, who alleged he cornered her at Catch in New York City before proceeding to “slide his hands into Plaintiff’s pants and put his fingers on and in Plaintiff’s vagina and anus.” The anonymous accuser claims assault and battery, among other claims against Catch for negligent supervision and Foxx, whose real name is Eric Marlon Bishop.
And while he hasn’t officially been sued yet, a summons has been issued to music mogul Jimmy Iovine, who’s expected to be accused of sexual assault over an incident that took place in 2007 when he was chief executive of Interscope Records.
A woman suing as a Jane Doe plaintiff will assert claims for assault, battery and violations of the state’s gender-motivated violence and humans rights laws, according to a notice of summons filed on Wednesday. She alleges “Iovine engaged in multiple instances of sexual abuse and forcible touching of her, including a specific incident of sexual misconduct in NYC” in August 2007. It’s unknown if Interscope will be named in the complaint.
“The passage of the Adult Survivors Acts has allowed victims an opportunity to come forward despite the passage of time and seek redress for the harm they have suffered,” says Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for the plaintiff who’s also representing Julia Ormond in her suit against Harvey Weinstein, CAA and Disney.
Andrew Wyatt, a spokesperson for Cosby who declined to comment on any of the suits against the actor, said in a statement that may not be the full picture.
“I will urge the public to reach out to their legislators and demand that they close these Look Back Windows because they are being abused to go after successful, wealthy men like Diddy, Steven Tyler, and LA Reid,” he said. “When will it stop and who will be the next man to be victimized by these Look Back Windows?
In a suit filed on Tuesday, a Jane Doe plaintiff alleged Cosby drugged and sexually abused her in a complaint that accused NBCUniversal, Kaufman Astoria Studios and the Carsey-Werner Co. of negligence. He was also sued last week by Joan Tarshis, who initially came forward with allegations against Cosby that he raped her in 2014.
Representatives for Iovine and Gooding Jr. didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Wednesday, Broadway legend William Ivey Long was also sued by a costume designer, who alleged he was subjected to “repeated grooming, sexual harassment, and ultimately rape at the hands of Long, with support from Long’s associates, and [the Roanoke Island Historical Association] — all of whom worked in conjunction to systematically perpetrate and cover up the sexual abuse being committed at The Lost Colony.”