The Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx is accused of sexual assault in a complaint that was filed in New York City on Wednesday. The lawsuit claims that in August 2015, Foxx approached a woman at a rooftop restaurant and bar in Manhattan.
The complainant, who goes by Jane Doe in the complaint, said that she and a friend had approached the movie star to get their picture taken with him, and that after that, the assault happened in a quiet area of the Catch NYC rooftop lounge.
A request for comment on the case, which demands unspecified damages, was not immediately answered by Foxx's attorneys.
According to the lawsuit, Foxx started touching the woman and pushing his hands under her clothes against her will. When her friend discovered them, the interaction was interrupted, and she left.
The actor is most recognized for playing musician Ray Charles in the 2004 film "Ray," for which he won an Academy Award. In the same year, he was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting performance in the movie "Collateral."
In a recent wave of lawsuits brought under the Adult Survivors Act, a state law in New York that permits these kinds of claims to be made in court even after the statute of limitations has passed, he is among the most well-known celebrities to be accused of sexual misconduct.
This month's deadline marks the end of the law's unique one-year window for filing such complaints.
Veteran of the music business Jimmy Iovine was also sued on Wednesday by a woman who claimed he had molested her sexually.
The 2004 Academy Award-winning film "Ray," in which the actor portrayed musician Ray Charles, is the one for which he is best known. He received an Oscar nomination that year for his supporting role in the film "Collateral."
He is one of the most well-known celebrities to be accused of sexual assault in a recent surge of lawsuits filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a state law in New York that allows these kinds of claims to be presented in court even after the statute of limitations has passed.
The statute's special one-year window for filing these kinds of complaints ends this month with the deadline.
On Wednesday, a lady filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Iovine, a music industry veteran, alleging he had molested her sexually.
A woman only known as "Jane Doe" claimed in the Iovine complaint filed in Manhattan state court that she had experienced sexual abuse, forced touching, sexual harassment, and retaliation in August 2007.
Iovine's representative expressed their shock and confusion by the complaint.
This is the first that we have heard about this issue. Up until this point, no one has ever filed a claim similar to this against Jimmy Iovine, and we haven't been contacted or informed of any complaint by anybody, including this unidentified plaintiff," the representative stated.
Douglas Wigdor, the plaintiff's lawyer, declined to comment further.
Former recording engineer Iovine co-founded Interscope Records, a West Coast hip-hop company that is currently owned by Universal Music Group (UMG.AS). Subsequently, in 2006, Iovine joined up with producer Dr. Dre to establish Beats Electronics, a business that Apple (AAPL.O) purchased for $3 billion in 2014.
Actors Russell Brand and Bill Cosby, former film producer Harvey Weinstein, former president Donald Trump, and hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs—whose lawsuit was resolved in a single day—are among the others who were sued under the law.
Sheila Kennedy, an actress and past Penthouse Pet of the Year, filed a lawsuit against Axl Rose, the former lead singer of Guns N' Roses, on Wednesday, alleging an assault in 1989.
Sources : Reuters