Cuba Gooding Jr. has reached a settlement in the lawsuit filed against him by a woman who accused him of raping her in a New York City hotel room a decade ago. The settlement was reached just as jury selection was about to commence in a federal civil trial. If the jury had ruled in favor of the woman, the actor could have faced significant financial damages, potentially amounting to millions. The plaintiff had initially sought $6 million in damages. The specific terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. When contacted by ABC News via email, the woman’s attorney, Gloria Allred, declined to comment at this time.
The woman recounted that she first encountered the actor at a restaurant in Greenwich Village in August 2013 while having dinner with a friend. According to her legal claim, Gooding invited her to his hotel room at the Mercer Hotel for drinks after which he requested her presence while he changed clothes.
As per the lawsuit, the Academy Award winner proceeded to play music, positioned himself between her and the hotel room door, and began undressing.
According to the woman, as she attempted to leave, Gooding prevented her from exiting and forcefully pushed her onto the bed.
Despite her repeated objections and saying “no” to Gooding, he persisted in touching her inappropriately, as stated in the lawsuit.
Subsequently, Gooding allegedly forcefully removed the plaintiff’s underwear and committed the act of rape. A second instance of alleged rape occurred shortly thereafter, as described in the lawsuit.
Gooding has denied these accusations, asserting that the encounter was consensual.
The judge has made a ruling allowing three additional women who have accused Gooding of sexual abuse to testify during the trial.
In his decision, Judge Paul Crotty stated, “The prior acts are sufficiently similar to Plaintiff’s allegations because all involve sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults connected with the Defendant and victims’ presence in social settings prominently featuring drinking like festivals, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.”
In a separate incident last year, Gooding managed to avoid imprisonment by pleading guilty to a state criminal case involving allegations of groping multiple women. Following his guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge, the actor underwent counseling for alcohol and behavioral issues. However, he later withdrew his guilty plea and instead pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation, which cleared his record according to The Associated Press.
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