A woman has come forward with new allegations of sexual assault and attempted rape against disgraced movie mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, Hayley Gripp accuses Weinstein of assaulting her in a suite at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills in November 2012. At the time, Gripp was 19 years old. NBC News obtained the lawsuit from one of her attorneys.
Gripp didn’t tell anyone about the incident because she was “scared that she would get into trouble for fighting back,” the lawsuit states. She also didn’t know who Weinstein was until allegations against the film producer went viral. Subsequently, Gripp was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the alleged sexual assault, according to the suit.
Christa Riggins, an attorney for Gripp, said her client doesn’t intend to file criminal charges at this time because Weinstein has “received what amounts to a lifetime sentence and is unable to abuse another woman.”
Weinstein was convicted of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison in March 2020.
“However, Hayley will fully cooperate with the Los Angeles Police Department or any other agency regarding an investigation or prosecution against Harvey Weinstein," Riggins said.
According to the suit, Gripp was waiting in The Beverly Hilton hotel lobby when a female “Weinstein associate” approached her. Gripp told the woman she was waiting for a casting nearby, which led to a conversation about her life, career and Tourette syndrome.
The associate then invited Gripp to a complimentary breakfast, set up for guests who had flown in for the Britannia Awards, so she could “fuel up” for her “big casting,” the lawsuit states.
After breakfast, the associate asked Gripp to meet her friend, a “big producer,” who was interested in hearing about her Tourette syndrome and could possibly help her with her career, according to the lawsuit. Gripp resisted the invitation at first but reluctantly agreed to meet Weinstein.
She followed the woman to a suite where Weinstein introduced himself as “Dom” and the woman offered her a glass of wine, the lawsuit states. According to the lawsuit, Gripp told the associate that she wasn’t of legal drinking age, but the woman said it was "rude to not accept a drink from someone who feeds you and shows you hospitality.”
In the lawsuit, Gripp said she drank a half glass of wine and then experienced a “brief blackout.” When she came to, Weinstein was sexually assaulting her and his “body was rubbing up against her as he pinned her against the coffee table,” Gripp alleges in the lawsuit.
“To escape his hold, Ms. Gripp began flailing her arms and, in doing so, broke her acrylic nail against the coffee table,” the lawsuit reads. “Ms. Gripp then stabbed Weinstein on the bottom part of his scrotum with her sharp broken nail.”
Gripp then ran out of the room and was confronted by the associate, who was “standing guard outside,” according to the lawsuit.
“What happened in there is your fault because of your Tourette syndrome. You are crazy,” the woman allegedly said before warning her not to tell anyone or “she would end up in a mental hospital,” the lawsuit states.
“This lawsuit is about Ms. Gripp reclaiming her power, becoming a survivor, not a victim, and getting restitution for the sexual crimes perpetrated against her,” Eric S. Lerner, another attorney for Gripp, said in a statement.
Weinstein denied the allegations, saying in a statement to NBC News that “the new accusation is stunningly dishonest and contrived.”
“It's a money grab that comes conveniently as my NY appeal is coming up and the LA case is looming,” he said. “While media takes great lengths to confirm and reject the veracity of any explanation offered by me, they run any unconfirmed and absurd claim by anyone who dares.”
A spokesperson for Weinstein told NBC News that Weinstein does not know Gripp, “and he said that this never happened.”
"Harvey says, 'I will take a lie detector myself that I don’t know this woman and never met her,'” the spokesperson said.
Attorney Imran H. Ansari said Weinstein "intends to defend" himself against the allegations "that have seemingly come out of the woodwork."
Gripp has requested a jury trial and recovery of damages.
“She is entitled to have a jury of her peers decide the merits of her case. Juries almost exclusively decide these types of cases,” Lerner said.
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March 28, 2021 at 03:25AM
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Woman accuses Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, attempted rape in new suit - NBC News
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