Vin Diesel vehemently denied the sexual battery claims outlined against him in a lawsuit brought by his former assistant.
“Let me be very clear: Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety,” the actor’s attorney Bryan Freedman told Us Weekly in a statement on Thursday, December 21. “This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly 9-day employee. There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations.”
Earlier on Thursday, Diesel, 56, was sued by Asta Jonasson, who claimed she was working for the actor in 2010 when he allegedly pinned her against a wall and masturbated in front of her. (Vanity Fair was the first to report the lawsuit.)
In court documents obtained by Us, Jonasson alleged that she was hired by Diesel’s One Race company to assist him on location in Atlanta during the production of Fast Five. She claimed that one night she was asked to wait in Diesel’s hotel suite. When he arrived, Diesel allegedly grabbed her wrists and “pulled her onto the bed.” Jonasson pleaded with him to stop and got free of his grasp, but Diesel allegedly approached her again before groping and kissing her chest.
“Ms. Jonasson was afraid to more forcibly refuse her supervisor, knowing that getting him out of that room was both crucial to her personal safety and job security,” read the court filing. “But this hope died when Vin Diesel dropped to his knees, pushed Ms. Jonasson’s dress up toward her waist, and molested her body.”
According to Jonasson, Diesel’s sister, Samantha Vincent, fired her several hours after the alleged incident. At that point, Jonasson had only been working for Diesel (born Mark Sinclair) for two weeks.
Jonasson also accused the actor of discrimination on the basis of sex/gender, intentional infliction of emotional distress, hostile work environment, wrongful termination and retaliation. She alleged that Diesel and his team attempted to cover up the alleged incident.
Jonasson’s lawsuit also claimed that she had a separate inappropriate encounter with an unnamed One Race manager days before the alleged encounter with Diesel. She alleged that the supervisor asked her to come to his hotel room and join him in his bed, but she refused.
Jonasson filed her lawsuit in part because of the Speak Out Act, a California law that prevents the enforcement of nondisclosure agreements in sexual assault and harassment cases. (She claimed she signed an NDA at the time of the incident.) California’s AB2777 bill also temporarily extended the statutes of limitations for sexual abuse allegations that occurred in 2009 or later.
“Empowered by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, Jonasson is unwilling to remain silent any longer and seeks to reclaim her agency and justice for the suffering she endured at the hands of Vin Diesel and One Race,” read the lawsuit.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
