According to a complained filed against the former movie mogul on Monday in Los Angeles, actress Ashley Judd is suing the now-disgraced producer, Harvey Weinstein for allegedly for harming her acting career by “false and malicious statements” about her “professionalism as an actor.”
Image Source: Los Angeles Times
The lawsuit refers to the recent report that Weinstein succeeded in making director Peter Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh agree not to cast Judd in their Lord of the Rings series after the actress says she rebuffed the movie mogul’s sexual advances.
Judd shared a link to the complaint on Monday; she wrote, “My legal complaint.” She continued, “I am suing for economic remedy due to damage done to my career as a result of sexual harassment. Financial recuperation goes to @TIMESUPNOW @TIMESUPLDF so that American workers who experience sexual harassment & retaliation have help.”
Jackson revealed during an interview with New Zealand publication Stuff earlier this year that he was forced to change his initial plans for both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by Miramax, the Weinstein brothers, whom the director called “second-rate Mafia bullies.” Jackson said that the Weinstein brothers warned him that Judd and actress Mira Sorvino were difficult to work with.
Jackson told the outlet, “I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998.” He went on to say, “At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us — but in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing.”
“I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women — and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list.” the director added.
Citing Jackson’s confession that Weinstein’s warning influenced him, the lawsuit states that “with [Weinstein’s] baseless smears, [he] succeeded in blacklisting Ms. Judd and destroying her ability to work on what became a multibillion-dollar franchise with 17 Academy Award wins and many more nominations. He also effectively blocked Ms. Judd from future opportunities to work with Mr. Jackson and Ms. Walsh.”
