‘Fast & Furious’ star Vin Diesel accused of sexual harassment by ex-assistant
sexual assault from a former employee.
The ‘Fast & Furious’ actor has been accused of sexual harassment by his former personal assistant Asta Jonasson. In the lawsuit filed against the ‘XXX’ actor, Jonasson claimed that he physically overpowered her in his suite, pinned her to a wall, and violated her.
“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 lawsuit revealed.
The assault took place in 2010, during the shooting of the 2011 action film ‘Fast Five’.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, the assault took place at St Regis Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. She was also wrongfully terminated, hours after the assault took place. The actor’s sister Samantha Vincent, who also runs his production company One Race Films called her to say she was sacked.
“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,” says the lawsuit.
Although she was hesitant to share her ordeal with the world, the success of the #MeToo and #Time’s Up movements, which exposed the predators in suits that roamed Hollywood, enabled her to share her story and call out her former employer for his misconduct.
Bryan Freeman, a lawyer for the actor (whose real name is Mark Sinclair) told CNN, “Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety. This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly 9-day employee.”
Diesel is known for high-octane action dramas such as ‘Saving Private Ryan’, ‘The Pacifier’, ‘Fast & Furious’, ‘XXX: The Return Of
