Actor Jamie Foxx accused of sexual abuse in New York lawsuit

[November 27, 2023]  By Dawn Chmielewski and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in New York City on Wednesday that alleges he groped a woman at a rooftop bar and restaurant in Manhattan in August 2015.

The plaintiff, identified in the complaint only as Jane Doe, said the assault occurred in a secluded corner of the Catch NYC rooftop lounge after she and a friend had approached the film star and had their pictures taken with him.

Foxx's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit said Foxx began groping the woman and putting his hands under her clothing against her will until her friend found the two of them, interrupting the encounter, and she left.

The actor is best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of singer Ray Charles in the 2004 film "Ray." He also earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting role that same year in the film "Collateral."

He is one of the latest high-profile celebrities accused of sexual wrongdoing in a recent series of lawsuits filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York state law allowing such lawsuits to be filed in court even if the statutes of limitations have run out.

The deadline for the special one-year window for such complaints under the law expires at the end of this month.

Music industry veteran Jimmy Iovine was likewise sued on Wednesday by an woman claiming he sexually abused her.

In the Iovine complaint filed in New York state court in Manhattan, a woman identified only as "Jane Doe" said she was sexually abused, forcibly touched and subject to sexual harassment and retaliation in August 2007.

Jamie Foxx attends the premiere of the film "Creed III" in London, Britain February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

A spokesperson for Iovine said they were "quite shocked and baffled" by the complaint.

"This inquiry is the first we’ve heard of this matter. No one has ever made a claim like this against Jimmy Iovine, nor have we been contacted or made aware of any complaint by anyone, including this unknown plaintiff prior to now,” the spokesperson said.

The plaintiff's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, declined further comment.

Iovine, a onetime recording engineer, co-founded Interscope Records, a music label associated with West Coast hip hop that is now part of Universal Music Group. Iovine later partnered in 2006 with producer Dr. Dre to launch Beats Electronics, a company which Apple acquired in 2014 for $3 billion.

Others sued under the law include actors Russell Brand and Bill Cosby, former movie producer Harvey Weinstein, a former president, Donald Trump, and hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, whose case was settled after one day.

Axl Rose, the former lead singer of Guns N' Roses, was sued under the law on Wednesday by Sheila Kennedy, an actress and former Penthouse Pet of the Year, over an alleged 1989 assault.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Dan Whitcomb, Robert Birsel)

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