A woman filed new allegations of sexual assault and attempted rape against the disgraced movie magnate and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday at the California Superior Court in Los Angeles, Hayley Gripp accused Weinstein of assaulting her in a suite at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills in November 2012. At the time, Gripp was 19 years old. NBC News obtained the lawsuit from one of its lawyers.
Gripp did not tell anyone about the incident because he was “afraid to get in trouble for fighting back,” the suit says. She also didn’t know who Weinstein was until the charges against the film’s producer went viral. Subsequently, Gripp was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the alleged sexual assault, according to the lawsuit.
Christa Riggins, Gripp’s lawyer, said that her client does not intend to pursue criminal prosecution at this time because Weinstein “received what amounts to a life sentence and cannot abuse another woman.”
Weinstein was convicted of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison in March 2020.
“However, Hayley will fully cooperate with the Los Angeles Police Department or any other agency in connection with an investigation or prosecution against Harvey Weinstein,” said Riggins.
According to the lawsuit, Gripp was waiting in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton hotel when a “Weinstein associate” approached her. Gripp told the woman that she was waiting for a mold nearby, which led to a conversation about her life, career and Tourette’s syndrome.
The associate then invited Gripp to a complimentary breakfast, prepared for guests who had flown to the Britannia Awards, so that she could “supply” her “big cast,” the suit says.
After breakfast, the associate asked Gripp to meet his friend, a “big producer”, who was interested in hearing about her Tourette syndrome and could help her in her career, according to the lawsuit. Gripp resisted the invitation at first, but reluctantly agreed to meet Weinstein.
She followed the woman into a suite where Weinstein introduced himself as a “gift” and the woman offered her a glass of wine, the suit says. According to the lawsuit, Gripp told the associate that she was not of legal drinking age, but the woman said it was “rude not to accept a drink from someone who feeds and shows hospitality”.
In the process, Gripp said he drank half a glass of wine and then experienced a “brief blackout”. When she came to, Weinstein was sexually assaulting her and her “body rubbed against her while pinning her against the coffee table,” Gripp claims in the lawsuit.
“To escape her grip, Ms. Gripp started waving her arms and, in doing so, broke her acrylic nail against the coffee table,” says the lawsuit. “Em. Gripp then stabbed Weinstein at the bottom of his scrotum with the broken sharp nail.
Gripp then ran out of the room and was confronted by the associate, who was “standing guard outside,” according to the lawsuit.
“What happened there is your fault because of your Tourette’s syndrome. You are crazy ”, the woman would have said before warning her not to tell anyone or“ she would end up in a psychiatric hospital ”, says the lawsuit.
“This lawsuit is about Mrs. Gripp claiming her power, becoming a survivor, not a victim, and getting restitution for the sexual crimes perpetrated against her,” said Eric S. Lerner, another lawyer for Gripp, in a statement.
Weinstein denied the charges, saying in a statement to NBC News that “the new charge is incredibly dishonest and artificial.”
“It is a matter of money that comes conveniently when my New York appeal is coming and the case in Los Angeles is approaching,” he said. “While the media strives to confirm and reject the veracity of any explanation offered by me, they publish any unconfirmed and absurd complaints by anyone who dares.”
A Weinstein spokesman told NBC News that Weinstein knows Gripp, “and he said it never happened.”
Attorney Imran H. Ansari said that Weinstein “intends to defend himself” against allegations “that appear to have come out of the hole”.
Gripp requested a jury trial and damage recovery.
“She has the right to have a jury formed by her peers to decide the merits of her case. The juries decide almost exclusively on these types of cases, ”said Lerner.
