Legends of the Fall actress Julia Ormond, 58, sues Harvey Weinstein

10/04/2023

Legends of the Fall actress Julia Ormond, 58, sues Harvey Weinstein, Miramax, Disney and the CAA claiming rapist producer forced her into oral sex in 1995 – ‘and effectively blacklisted her from Hollywood’

British actress Julia Ormond is suing Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery over an alleged incident after a business dinner in 1995
Ormond’s lawsuit also takes aim at CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax for allegedly enabling his behavior
The Legends of the Fall star said he lured her into giving him a massage before climbing on top of her, masturbating and forcing her to perform oral sex

British actress Julia Ormond is suing Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery in a lawsuit describing her as ‘yet another victim of his depravity’.

Along with the disgraced producer, Ormond’s claim also takes aim at CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax for allegedly turning a blind eye to his behavior because he ‘made them too much money’.

In the case filed Wednesday morning in the New York Supreme Court, the 58-year-old claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her after a work dinner in December 1995.

The Legends of the Fall star, who was earning $3.5 million per film at the peak of her career, said he lured her into giving him a massage before climbing on top of her, masturbating and forcing her to perform oral sex.

Ormond said she told her agents – Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane – about the alleged assault, but they warned her against speaking out.

British actress Julia Ormond is suing Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery in a lawsuit describing her as ‘yet another victim of his depravity’. They are pictured dining with Tim Robbins and Dr Mathilde Krim in 2001

In the case filed Wednesday morning in the New York Supreme Court , the 58-year-old claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her after a work dinner in December 1995

Along with disgraced producer Weinstein (pictured), Ormond’s lawsuit also takes aim at CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax for allegedly enabling his behavior

The pair are the current co-chairmen of CAA and they are named in Ormond’s lawsuit – though they are not targeted as defendants.

Ormond, from Surrey in England, is instead suing the LA-based talent and sports agency for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.

She is also accusing Miramax, the company Weinstein co-founded with his brother, and The Walt Disney Company as its owner in the 90s, of negligent supervision and retention.

Ormond names several former executives at the company in the lawsuit – including ex Disney CEO Michael Eisner and ex chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg – but they are not targeted as defendants.

‘The #MeToo movement has unequivocally demonstrated the horrors experienced by so many women who aspired to become Hollywood stars,’ her lawsuit states.

‘This case demonstrates, however, that even those who have reached the highest level of the film industry are not immune.’

The suit states that Ormond was represented by ‘the most influential talent agents at CAA’ in the mid-90s, who helped her gain signings with Miramax.

‘What Ormond did not know is that Miramax’s Co-chairman, Harvey Weinstein, was a sexual predator who systematically targeted the women actors he encountered, whether they were trying to break into the film business or, like Ormond, had already enjoyed great success.

Julia Ormond starring alongside Brad Pitt in the 1994 film Legends of the Fall

In the 90s, Ormond was everywhere – from being a Hollywood unknown she suddenly found herself, aged 29, the female lead in three huge movies alongside Tinseltown’s biggest hitters – Brad Pitt (in 1994’s Legends of the Fall), Harrison Ford (in Sabrina) and both Sean Connery and Richard Gere (in First Knight). (Pictured: Ormond in Sabrina)

The Legends of the Fall star, who was earning $3.5 million per film at the peak of her career, said Weinstein he lured her into giving him a massage before climbing on top of her, masturbating and forcing her to perform oral sex

‘But the men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein. So too did Weinstein’s employers at Miramax and Disney.

‘Brazenly, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.’

Describing the alleged December 1995 assault, the lawsuit says Ormond met Weinstein for what she believed was a work dinner.

But he refused to discuss business matters and ‘kept changing the subject’, per the suit.

The producer said he would only discuss the work project back at an apartment Miramax had provided for Ormond as part of a first-look deal with her.

‘Her defenses down because she had consumed several drinks, and wanting to finally get to what she thought was the purpose of their meeting, Ormond agreed to have Weinstein come back to her apartment,’ the lawsuit says.

‘Soon after, Weinstein stripped naked and forced her to perform oral sex on him.’

Interestingly, Ormond was suddenly dropped from Hollywood after the 90s when the industry turned against her seemingly for no reason.

Ormond attended the ‘First Knight’ Beverly Hills Premiere on June 19, 1995 at the Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, alongside actor Richard Gere

She faced a barrage of criticism following a New York Times piece titled ‘The Conception, Production and Distribution of Julia Ormond’, which implied she had somehow connived in creating her rapid celebrity out of nowhere.

Ormond told the Daily Mail in a 2007 interview that she didn’t think her skyrocket to fame was ‘such a good thing’ and even warned that it could ‘backfire quite badly’ – but did not elaborate on the reason for her caution.

‘It’s happening very quickly, horribly quickly really,’ Ormond said of her fame. ‘I don’t know that it’s such a good thing, actually. I think it could backfire quite badly.’

She was hailed as the new Julia Roberts and described by one critic as ‘a hurricane on the horizon’. The lone voice of caution, it seems, came from Julia herself.

Meanwhile, Weinstein is currently being held in the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York.

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