A former assistant to Paul Schrader accused the scenarist-director nominated to the Oscars of sexual assault, sexual harassment, reprisals and René in a confidential settlement agreement.
The accusations were filed Thursday in New York to request a summary judgment concerning the application of the regulation, which the screenwriter “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull” would have accepted in principle on February 5 but never signed. The former assistant is called in Jane Doe court documents to protect her private life in the midst of allegations of sexual irregularity.
Philip J. Kessler, Schrader's lawyer, judged the “desperate, opportunistic and frivolous” trial in a comment to the Associated Press and said that many of his llegations are false or materially misleading. He “absolutely” denied that Schrader has ever tried to have sex with the DOE and said that his client had simply chosen not to sign the proposed regulations.
According to a legal document, Doe, 26, worked for Schrader, 78 Drama “Oh, Canada”, that he also co-written.
Schrader forced Doe “to work in a sexually hostile, intimidating and humiliating environment on a daily basis, if not schedule”, according to an affirmation of his lawyer, Gregory S. Chiarello. “The sexual harassment dam of the defendant Schrader included, among other things, sexual assault, a forced exposure of his genital organs, unwanted sexual advances, repeatedly professing her love and her desire to touch Mrs. Doe (both verbally and via many emails), and a constituent almost constitutes inappropriate sexual questions Misogynistic. ”
The document also alleys that, in Cannes, Schrader at a given moment ordered Doe from his room where he “trapped him inside, caught his arms and pushed his face into his to kiss him against his will, then held her in an effort to keep her in the room.”
Three days later, after having “attracted” the doe in his ostensibly room to make him pack his bags, saying that he “died” and could not do it himself: “Schrader opened the door of his hotel room with nothing other than an open bathrobe with his fully exposed penis”, says the file. “While Mrs. Doe tried to pack Mr. Schrader's bags in a terrified silence, he commented several times:” I am so sweaty. I sweated through the sheets. I feel how wet they are. Ms. Doe packed her bags as quickly as she could, and left. »»
Schrader sent DOE emails at the same time, alleys the file saying: “I feel hindered whenever I have the impulse to touch you” and “Sometimes I feel (not today) that you are afraid of touching … I grine about the thought that you are afraid of touching yourself.”
The writer-director dismissed the DOE at the end of September after having “refused to nod” to his sexual advances, the document indicates. Two days later, he sent an email to Doe, said the document, writing: “If – up. Big Time … If I became a Harvey Weinstein in your mind, then of course, you have no choice but to put myself in the mirror.”
Once an amount of regulations was determined at the beginning of February, the file said, the lawyers made back and forth by e-mail on non-material details. The file indicates that at the end of March, the scriptwriter-director fell ill, “made a” soul search “during the disease and decided that he did not want to pay the complete and agreed amount.
Schrader's lawyer did not agree with this statement. “The agreement they are trying to apply against Mr. Schrader, in simple English, have forced the two parties to sign it before becoming legally effective,” said Kessler in the AP. “Mr. Schrader refused to sign it. It's frankly as simple as that.”
In a letter written to “Friends and Family” and obtained by Times, Schrader delivered his version of the events and alleged that the trial “works to create a false impression on my character and my interactions” with Doe and “includes the remuneration made on the letter of the sensational and misleading request” which was in the initial request letter from Doe.
Schrader said he had never tried to have sex with Doe and that their most “intimate” “experiences were two kisses on the lips, months apart and two times after the two drank. He said she agreed with the first kiss and not agree with the second, so he apologized and never tried to kiss her again.
He said that he had temporarily accepted a regulation because he thought it was worth spending a “small fraction” of the sum initially required to avoid “the injury and injury that advertising surrounding legal action” as this would cause, as well as the cost of the dispute.
“He is more than a little revealing that, throughout her job, the plaintiff has chosen by herself to make flattering remarks on social networks about me, emphasizing her belief in my talent and her joy in my mentoring. I think it is at least as revealing that its elements include its reference to me as “my man”.
Schrader said that he no longer needed a full -time assistant in the summer of 2024 after finishing his last film and rather than eliminating Doe's work, he reduced his salary by about half – she took care of his sick grandfather, who has died since. Schrader also said he hoped to go back to work when he needed full -time help in the future.
“I have nothing to hide in my conduct-and that includes my decision not to give in to pressure from the threat of my former assistant to make her sensational allegations public, a threat she and her lawyers have now executed,” he wrote. “If this case is never judged, I will be honest with the judge and the jury, who I am confident will see the truth.”
The amount of the regulation was expternal of the documents associated with the complaint. The DOE requests that Schrader pays him the sum allegedly agreed plus interest, legal costs, legal costs and additional damage equivalent to 10% of the regulations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
