Vin Diesel, the hero of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, has been accused of sexual battery and being responsible for creating a hostile work environment, according to a lawsuit that was filed by a former assistant. The civil suit, which was filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by CNN, is based on an incident that occurred in 2010. In the incident, Diesel’s former assistant, Asta Jonasson, claims that Diesel pushed himself on her in a hotel suite in Atlanta and masturbated in front of her.
In the lawsuit, it is stated that Diesel disregarded Jonasson’s “clear statements of non-consent,” and that after she “screamed and ran towards the nearby bathroom,” he “pinned her against the wall with his body.” “Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety,” Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Diesel, wrote in a statement to CNN later on Friday. “Vin Diesel is not going to be interested in this.” According to him, this is the very first time he has ever heard about this allegation that was made by a reportedly nine-day employee more than thirteen years ago.
In addition to a number of other allegations, Jonasson is suing Diesel, as well as Diesel’s sister Samantha Vincent and his firm, One Race Productions, for sexual battery, creating a hostile work environment, negligent supervision, and wrongful termination. Jonasson asserts that Samantha Vincent, who was serving as the president of Diesel’s company One Race at the time, called her “mere hours” after the alleged assault and “terminated Ms. Jonasson’s employment.”
According to the lawsuit, she is requesting that a civil penalty of $10,000 be imposed for each violation, in addition to punitive penalties that are not defined. The attorney for Jonasson, Claire-Lise Kutlay of Greenberg Gross LLP, wrote in a statement that was shared with CNN that “No one is too famous or powerful to evade justice.” We have high hopes that her brave decision to come forward will contribute to the creation of long-lasting change and will empower other survivors.
Diesel has made appearances in over sixty different films and television shows. Additionally, he is one of the producers of the “Fast and Furious” film franchise, which has become a worldwide phenomenon. In addition to “Fast X: Part 2,” he is involved in the production of a number of other planned projects.
