Numerous US stars have been sued for sexual assault in recent days. Many women (and sometimes men too) still take advantage of a special New York law that expires on Thursday at midnight (local time). The so-called Adult Survivors Act allowed civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct to be filed for a year, even after the statute of limitations had expired. In the United States, abuse usually becomes statute-barred after a few years when victims reach adulthood.
Actors Jamie Foxx (55) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (55), musician Axl Rose (61) and music producer Jimmy Iovine (70), for example, were sued before the deadline on Wednesday. The lawsuits were filed in New York Supreme Court under the Adult Survivors Act. On Tuesday, Bill Cosby (86), who had already been convicted of sexual abuse, was accused by a woman in another lawsuit. She claims she was drugged and sexually abused by the actor in the 1980s. Lawsuits were also filed this month against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, music mogul L.A. Reid (67) and former Grammys CEO Neil Portnow (75).
“The passage of the Adult Survivors Acts has given victims the opportunity to come forward despite the passage of time and seek redress for the harm they have suffered,” said attorney Douglas Wigdor, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter. He represents the woman who accuses music mogul Iovine of multiple sexual assaults in 2007. Andrew Wyatt, a spokesman for Bill Cosby, criticized the New York law: “I will urge the public to contact their legislators and demand that they close these look-back windows because they are being abused to achieve success “to hunt down wealthy men like Diddy, Steven Tyler and LA Reid,” he said in a statement. “When will it stop and who will be the next man to fall victim to these look-back windows?”
On Wednesday, Broadway legend William Ivey Long (76) was also sued by a costume designer. He emphasizes in the documents that he was “subjected to sexual harassment and eventual rape by Long, with the assistance of Long’s associates.” Everyone worked together to systematically commit and cover up the abuse. Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. was sued by two women. The actor allegedly groped her in separate incidents in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Gooding Jr. has been accused of sexual abuse by several women. Just in June, he reached an out-of-court settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her a decade ago. In doing so, he avoided legal proceedings. In spring 2022, he pleaded guilty to kissing a waitress without consent in 2018.
