CAA says Julia Ormond's sex abuse claims are 'baseless'

Julia Ormond’s sex abuse claims ‘are baseless,’ say CAA: Agency comes out fighting saying British actress asked them for $15million to keep allegations against them out of suit in which she accuses Harvey Weinstein of sexually attacking her

• British actress Julia Ormond’s former agency has slammed her lawsuit in which she accuses them of not protecting her from sexual predator Harvey Weinstein 

Hollywood super-agency CAA has slammed British actress Julia Ormond’s lawsuit which alleges that it, along with Walt Disney, did nothing to protect her from rapist Harvey Weinstein, after she says he sexually assaulted her in 1995 and subsequently destroyed her career in Hollywood. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for Creative Artists Agency said that Ormond, 58’s, claims are ‘baseless’ and that she asked the company for $15 million in order for her to remain silent. In her lawsuit, Ormond’s attorneys ask that the court establish how much in damages should be paid. 

At the time of alleged assault, Ormond was represented by CAA’s Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane. Both are now co-chairmen of the company. Ormond says in the suit that Weinstein attacked her following a work related function. Neither Lourd nor Huvane are mentioned in the suit by name. 

In 1995, Ormond appeared in movies such as Legends of the Fall, Sabrina as well as First Knight with A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Richard Gere, her career then went on a downward trajectory resulting in her leaving acting for a time before 2000. The Bristol-native referred to CAA as ‘enablers’ in an interview with Variety. 

Despite CAA’s statement, Ormond’s lawyer told Variety: ‘Rest assured, we will expose the real facts.’ The star was with CAA between 1995 and 1999. 

Julia Ormond’s former agency has slammed her lawsuit in which she accuses them of not protecting her from sexual predator Harvey Weinstein

CAA’s Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane who formerly represented Julia Ormond at the agency, they are now co-chairmen of the business 

Ormond pictured with Harvey Weinstein in 2001, the pair were described as having a ‘budding relationship’ in 1995  

‘Obviously, Harvey Weinstein is in jail and is going to be in jail for a very long time. I personally don’t believe that Harvey could have done this without enablers. And for me, that is the layer that you have to get down to, in terms of the root cause,’ Ormond told Variety. 

‘If you think about it. If there had been best practices and Harvey Weinstein had been called out at the start after his first sexual harassment or his first sexual assault, he could have learned different behaviors, and potentially all of the people that followed wouldn’t have been harmed. But he wasn’t. And there’s a reason for that,’ she continued.

Since the early days of the MeToo movement, CAA has been in the crosshairs of several actresses, including Courtney Love and Uma Thurman, who have accused it of being complicit in Weinstein’s behavior. 

For her part, Love said that she was banned by CAA for famously saying in 2005: ‘If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in the Four Seasons. Don’t go.’

A 1995 feature in The New York Times covered Julia Ormond’s rise, mainly on the back of the Brad Pitt- starring Legends of the Fall. 

According to the article, Ormond chose to sign with CAA on Pitt’s recommendation. The pair shared a home in Alberta, Canada, during filming. 

It was CAA’s co-founder Michael Ovitz who led the charge to sign her to the agency. One section of the piece notes: ‘Unfortunately, Hollywood has already tagged Ormond as difficult.’ 

Julia Ormond starring alongside Brad Pitt in the 1994 film Legends of the Fall, Ormond said it was Pitt who convinced her to sign with CAA 

It was CAA’s co-founder Michael Ovitz who led the charge to sign her to the agency, The New York Times reported in April 1995

In the 90s, Ormond was everywhere – from being a Hollywood unknown she suddenly found herself, aged 29, the female lead in three huge movies alongside Tinseltown’s biggest hitters – Brad Pitt (in 1994’s Legends of the Fall), Harrison Ford (in Sabrina) and both Sean Connery and Richard Gere (in First Knight). (Pictured: Ormond in Sabrina)

 However the article, also compares her trajectory to that of Julia Roberts and mentions how Steven Spielberg compared her to Audrey Hepburn. 

Later, it’s written that Ormond had a ‘budding relationship’ with Harvey Weinstein, adding that the pair ‘speak regularly.’ 

‘Julie’s got the best story sense of any young actress in America today. I once got 26 pages of notes from her about a script. She can pull them apart and find the flaws,’ Weinstein told the newspaper. 

The article goes on to say that Ormond is one of the Hollywood-figures that Weinstein regularly goes to for feedback on scripts. 

The Times article was published in April 1995, Ormond said the assault occurred in December 1995.  

A 2008 feature in New York Magazine, described Ormond as taking a break from acting in 1999 and getting involved in non-profit work. The career break came on the back of several flops, including the remake of Sabrina. ‘I needed breathing space,’ she said. 

In her new lawsuit, Ormond says that she left CAA because she was transferred to a younger agent. 

Ormond filed the case in state Supreme Court in Manhattan under the Adult Survivors Act, a law passed last year that allows a temporary window for those who allege sexual assault to file past the state’s normal deadlines.

Along with disgraced producer Weinstein (pictured), Ormond’s lawsuit also takes aim at CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax for allegedly enabling his behavior

In the case filed Wednesday morning in the New York Supreme Court , the 58-year-old claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her after a work dinner in December 1995

 Ormond accuses Weinstein of committing sexual battery against her in December 1995 after a business meeting, and then retaliating against her and negatively affecting her career after she confronted him weeks later. 

Weinstein attorney Imran Ansari said his client ‘categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself.’ 

The British actress says she told her U.S. agents at the time, Creative Artists Agency, but received no support and was advised not to take any legal action or other steps. She accuses CAA, Disney and Miramax, saying that they knew Weinstein presented a danger to women but did nothing to stop him or to help her.

According to the filing, ‘none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.’

CAA responded in a statement that the agency ‘takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms. Ormond.’

The statement said the agency hired attorneys to investigate her claims when she first came to them in March, and they found only ‘evidence of a dynamic and engaged relationship between CAA and Ms. Ormond, and the agency’s consistent efforts to support her career.’

‘Ms. Ormond’s claims against CAA are baseless, and the agency will vigorously refute them in court,’ the statement said.

The lawsuit marks the first time Ormond has publicly accused Weinstein of sexual assault. 

Weinstein, 71, was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is in prison in the state. Last year, he also was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles. He has appealed both convictions.

Dozens of women have sued Weinstein, many of them actors, but few have named such a broad list of defendants as Ormond. Suing her own former agents is an especially unusual move.

Creative Artists Agency’s statement on Julia Ormond’s lawsuit 

CAA takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms. Ormond and the experience she described in her complaint. However, the claims that Ms. Ormond has levied against the agency are completely without merit. 

Through counsel, Ms. Ormond approached CAA in March with these allegations about the agency. Knowing these allegations to be untrue, the agency then retained attorney Loretta Lynch and her law firm, Paul Weiss, to defend the company. Their review found nothing to support Ms. Ormond’s claims against CAA.

CAA received a demand, through its counsel, from Ms. Ormond’s attorneys, that CAA pay $15,000,000 in exchange for Ms. Ormond not making the allegations against CAA public. 

CAA immediately rejected this demand. Out of respect for Ms. Ormond, CAA shared the results of Paul Weiss’s investigation with her, through her counsel, providing evidence of a dynamic and engaged relationship between CAA and Ms. Ormond, and the agency’s consistent efforts to support her career throughout her time at the agency, from 1995 – 1999.

Ms. Ormond’s claims against CAA are baseless, and the agency will vigorously refute them in court.

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