A former personal assistant of Hollywood actor Vin Diesel has accused the Fast and Furious star of sexual assault during the filming of Fast Five in 2010.
The former assistant of the action star has also sued him.
The civil suit, filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by CNN, stemmed from a 2010 incident in which Diesel’s former assistant, Asta Jonasson, alleged that Diesel forced himself on her in a hotel suite in Atlanta and masturbated in front of her.
The complaint states Diesel ignored Jonasson’s “clear statements of non-consent”, and after she “screamed and ran towards the nearby bathroom” he “pinned her against the wall with his body”, the news channel reported.
“Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety,” Bryan Freedman, attorney for Diesel, wrote in a statement to CNN later on Friday (December 22, 2023). “This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly 9 day employee.”
According to reports, she is also suing the actor’s sister and her company.
In addition to sexual battery, her lawsuit includes claims of gender discrimination, illegal retaliation, emotional distress and wrongful termination, reported BBC.
A lawyer for Jonasson said in a statement to BBC News that her client “seeks to hold Vin Diesel and those who allowed and covered up his sexual assault accountable for their egregious actions”.
Who is Vin Diesel?
One of the world’s highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick franchise (2000–2013), Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise (2001–present), and Xander Cage in the XXX film series (2002-2017).
Born in California, Diesel attended NYC’s Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting.
He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial (1995) and his debut feature Strays (1997).
He came to prominence in the late 1990s, and first became known for appearing in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan in 1998.
He followed up with commercially successful films such as Boiler Room (2000), Pitch Black (2000), and The Pacifier (2005). He also acted in A Man Apart (2003), Babylon A.D. (2008), The Last Witch Hunter (2015), and Bloodshot (2020).