Hollywood star Vin Diesel has been accused of sexually assaulting his former assistant, who sued the actor on Thursday.
The former assistant alleged that in 2010 he pinned her against a wall in a hotel suite and masturbated in front of her, reports Variety.
Asta Jonasson reports that she was working for the actor in Atlanta, where he was filming ‘Fast Five’, when he brought her to his suite at the St. Regis Hotel and forced her onto his bed.
According to the suit, she asked him to stop and moved toward the door, but he came over to her and began to grope her breasts and kiss her chest. He tried to pull down her underwear, and she screamed and ran toward the bathroom, the suit alleges.
Jonasson alleged that Diesel pressed against the wall and forced her to touch his erect penis, and then began to masturbate.
“Ms Jonasson was unable to escape and closed her eyes, scared of angering Vin Diesel by rejecting him further and trying to dissociate, wishing the assault would end,” the suit alleges.
Hours later, according to the lawsuit, Samantha Vincent, Diesel’s sister and the president of his company, called Jonasson and fired her.
“It was clear to her that she was being fired because she was no longer useful — Vin Diesel had used her to fulfill his sexual desires and she had resisted his sexual assaults,” the suit alleged.
“Ms Jonasson felt like she was a piece of trash to be discarded. Ms Jonasson felt helpless, her self esteem was demolished, and she questioned her own skills and whether a successful career would require her to trade her body for advancement.”
Bryan Freedman, Diesel’s attorney, issued a statement Thursday afternoon denying the allegations.
“Let me be very clear: Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety,” Freedman said.
“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.”
Jonasson filed the sexual battery lawsuit under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, a 2022 law that created a one-year window to file certain suits that would otherwise be outside of the statute of limitations.
For the suit to qualify, the defendant must have engaged in an attempt to cover up at least one previous sexual assault allegation.
The suit alleges that a few days before the Diesel incident, Jonasson was propositioned by another supervisor at his company, One Race. According to the complaint, the supervisor summoned her to his hotel room at the St. Regis, took off his shirt, got into bed and said “Come here.”
“Appalled, Ms. Jonasson immediately exited the room and the hotel,” the suit states.
In addition to the sexual battery allegation, the suit also states claims of gender discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and negligent supervision.