‘Legends Of The Fall’ Star Julia Ormond Sues Harvey Weinstein For Sexual Assault — And Disney For Enabling It

Harvey Weinstein has just been hit with another lawsuit. The disgraced movie producer, who was convicted of rape in two jurisdictions, is being sued by actress Julia Ormond for sexual battery. Along with Weinstein, the Legends of the Fall star is also suing CAA, The Walt Disney Company, and Miramax for allegedly being complicit in the assault.

According to the lawsuit obtained by Variety, Ormond alleged that Weinstein sexually assaulted her after a business dinner in 1995. After going back to her apartment with the intention to discuss a new project, she claimed he lured her into giving him a massage, climbed on top of her, masturbated, and forced her to give him oral sex.

“At the dinner, Weinstein refused to discuss business matters and kept changing the subject,” the suit reads, per Variety. “Finally, following dinner, Weinstein said he would only discuss the project back at the apartment Miramax had provided for Ormond as part of their first-look deal with her.”

It continues, “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. Soon after, Weinstein stripped naked and forced her to perform oral sex on him.”

Following the assault, Ormond informed her two CAA talent agents about what happened, but they allegedly warned her against speaking out. Shortly after her complaint, Miramax terminated its contract with her.

Ormond is now suing CAA for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as Miramax (the production company Weinstein co-founded) and The Walt Disney Company (which owned Miramax in the 1990s) for negligent supervision and retention.

“The men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein. So too did Weinstein’s employers at Miramax and Disney,” the lawsuit says. “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.”

Ormond — who starred in films like Legends of the Fall with Brad Pitt, First Knight with Richard Gere, and Sabrina with Harrison Ford — revealed to Variety why she decided to speak out now.

“I am coming forward with my story now publicly because I feel as if we still need systemic change, and I feel that we need accountability from enablers, in order to get there,” she told the outlet. “I feel that this is what happened with me.”

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 100 women over the course of his decades-long career. He is currently serving a 26-year sentence in New York, which will be followed by a 16-year sentence in Los Angeles.

“Obviously, Harvey Weinstein is in jail and is going to be in jail for a very long time,” Ormond said. “I personally don’t believe that Harvey could have done this without enablers. And for me, that is the layer that you have to get down to, in terms of the root cause.”

She added, “If there had been best practices and Harvey Weinstein had been called out at the start after his first sexual harassment or his first sexual assault, he could have learned different behaviors, and potentially all of the people that followed wouldn’t have been harmed. But he wasn’t. And there’s a reason for that.”

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.