Once again, acclaimed actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is in the tabloids for the unfortunate reason of sexual misconduct. He joins quite a number of men who have had lawsuits filed against them within the last few weeks. However, unlike some of them, Cuba Gooding Jr. has famously admitted to similar accusations in the past. Unfortunately for the actor, however, the accusations only seem to keep piling up. While he reached a settlement with an accuser in June 2023, he is evidently not in the clear just yet. With two new lawsuits filed against him under the Adult Survivors Act, the actor does not seem to be having a great year.
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Previous Allegations Against Cuba Gooding Jr.
Cuba Gooding Jr. faced a number of allegations of sexual misconduct in the aftermath of the string of accusations against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein. Since 2019, the actor's faced several lawsuits related to sexual misconduct. For example, in June 2019, he faced up to one year in jail for allegedly groping a woman. He initially faced third-degree misdemeanor sexual abuse charges, made worse when he was indicted for an additional incident in October 2019. Afterward, he was accused by a third woman of similar charges.
Subsequently, he turned himself in and pleaded guilty to one of the three counts, effectively avoiding jail time in the process. In August 2020, he was hit with a lawsuit by an unidentified woman for an alleged 2013 rape. The Oscar-winning actor maintained that their sexual relations were consensual. However, the two subsequently came to a settlement agreement in June 2023 before the civil trial commenced.
November 2023: New Allegations Against Cuba Gooding Jr.
The Adult Survivors Act was enacted on November 24, 2022. Subsequently, it was meant to reach the end of its one-year look-back period on November 24, 2023. Right before it elapsed, however, Cuba Gooding Jr. was hit with two new lawsuits. The plaintiffs are two women who have previously sued the actor. However, it seems they were unsatisfied with how their cases ended the first time around.
Jasmine Abbay, one of the two plaintiffs, had previously accused Gooding Jr. of kissing her without consent in 2018. At the time, she was working as a waitress in the Lavo nightclub, the Manhattan establishment where she claimed he forcibly kissed her. Likewise, the second plaintiff is someone who has also brought up allegations against Gooding Jr. before. Kelsey Harbert accused the actor of groping her breast in June 2019 in another midtown Manhattan establishment. In Harbert’s 2019 filing, she shared that she met the actor at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge. Furthermore, she alleged that after she sat next to his girlfriend, he reached over and groped her thigh and breast.
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Gloria Allred Speaks
As aforementioned, the actor pleaded guilty on both of these counts and as a result, Cuba Gooding Jr. avoided jail time. Gloria Allred, the new representative of the plaintiffs shared in a recent statement to Deadline: “Our clients were deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case. They are now seeking justice and accountability in their civil cases. We are proud of their courage and intend to vigorously fight for them until they win the justice that they deserve.” Altogether, Jasmine Abbay and Kelsey Harbert are now seeking indeterminate damages for assault and battery under the Adult Survivors Act.
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