Julia Ormond sues Disney, Miramax, CAA over alleged Weinstein assault

Last Updated on October 9, 2023

Actress Julia Ormond, best known for her work in Legends of the Fall, Temple Grandin and The Walking Dead: World Beyond, is taking a stance and making a point by suing two major studios and one of the industry’s leading casting agencies over an alleged sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein back in 1995.

As noted in a statement issued by Julia Ormond, the Emmy-winning actress said that she holds Disney, Miramax and Creative Arts Agency (CCA) accountable for covering up the alleged incident, in which Weinstein forced himself upon her. It should be noted that the official filing does not name former Disney heads Michael Eisner and Jeffery Katzenberg but the suit itself does.

In the statement, Julia Ormond said, “After living for decades with the painful memories of my experiences at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, I am humbled and grateful to all those who have risked speaking out…Their courage and the Adult Survivors Act has provided me a window of opportunity and way to shed light on how powerful people and institutions like my talent agents at CAA, Miramax and Disney enabled and provided cover for Weinstein to assault me and countless others. I seek a level of personal closure by holding them accountable to acknowledge their part and the depth of its harms and hope that all of our increased understanding will lead to further protections for all of us at work.” The Adult Survivor’s Act, enacted last year, offers “a one-year lookback window for survivors of sexual assault that occurred when they were over the age of 18 to sue their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred.”

Harvey Weinstein is currently serving nearly 40 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. With this suit, Julia Ormond unfortunately joins a staggering list of women who have come forward over alleged or proven incidents involving the disgraced producer.

As the incident between Julia Ormond and Harvey Weinstein allegedly took place in 1995, it would have occurred near the beginning of her career – just one year after Legends of the Fall. Ormond has had a steady career for around 30 years now, winning an Emmy for TV movie Temple Grandin as well as earning SAG nods for ensemble work on both that and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, reuniting her with Brad Pitt. Pitt famously confronted Weinstein over an apparent incident (also in 1995) involving then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow.