A former assistant of actor Vin Diesel has accused him of sexual assault during the filming of "Fast Five" in 2010.
The woman, identified as Asta Jonassan, has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles claiming that the actor assaulted her in his hotel room at the St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. She has also sued his production company, One Race Films, for wrongful termination hours after the alleged sexual assault took place.
The lawsuit claims that Diesel "grabbed Ms. Jonasson's wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed". She somehow managed to escape his grasp and waited for him to leave by the suite's door, but he again began to touch her inappropriately.
All her pleas to stop went unheard as the actor continued to grope her breasts and kiss her chest, it added.
"Ms. Jonasson was afraid to more forcibly refuse her supervisor, knowing that getting him out of that room was both crucial to her personal safety and job security," the suit continues," reads an excerpt from the lawsuit accessed by Vanity Fair.
Diesel then moved to pull her underwear down, and that is when Jonassaon ran towards the bathroom, where he allegedly pinned her to the wall and masturbated against her.
The lawsuit says that Jonasson was contacted by his sister, Samantha Vincent, to inform her that she had been fired from her job hours after the assault took place. Vincent runs the actor's production company, One Race Films. She has also been sued by Jonasson.
"It was clear to her that she was being fired because she was no longer useful - Vin Diesel had used her to fulfil his sexual desires," the suit alleges.
The former assistant has also claimed that the incident took place days after another executive from the company propositioned her in the same hotel. However, the person in question has not been sued by the plaintiff.
The lawsuit also includes claims of gender discrimination, illegal retaliation, emotional distress, and wrongful termination.
Meanwhile, Diesel's lawyer has said that the actor "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. There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations," read a statement from his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, per CNN.
Jonasson continued to work in the industry in various capacities. She says that she stayed quiet all these years due to the fear of retaliation and also because she had filed a nondisclosure agreement when she started working for One Race Films.
She has been able to file the lawsuit under the Speak Out Act, which prevents the enforcement of nondisclosure agreements in instances of sexual assault and harassment.
The lawsuit also states that movements like #MeToo and Time's Up gave her the courage to speak out against her alleged harasser.
Diesel, whose real name is Mark Sinclair, is best known for his role in the "Fast & Furious" franchise, "XXX" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" as the voice of Groot. He and his sister have produced several "Fast & Furious" pictures.
Diesel is not the only actor who is facing a sexual assault lawsuit years after the alleged incident took place.
Several such cases have come to light in the last few years. Last month, Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2015 at a restaurant in New York City.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against the actor with the New York State Supreme Court. The alleged incident is said to have taken place in the back area of the rooftop lounge at a popular New York City restaurant, Catch NYC.
The lawsuit claims that Foxx "intentionally and without consent used force to offensively touch Plaintiff's person," such as groping her breasts and genitals. The complaint claims that the actor seemed "intoxicated" at the time of the incident.
Catch Hospitality Group, restaurateur Mark Birnbaum, and managing partner Arie Kovant have also been named in the lawsuit.
