Cuba Gooding Jr. Accused of Raping Woman Amid Groping Claims

Cuba Gooding Jr. is accused of raping a woman two times in 2013 after bringing her back to his room in a Manhattan hotel, a new lawsuit filed against the actor Tuesday alleges, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. The actor is currently facing criminal trial on three claims of unwanted sexual touching, but no accusations of rape had been made until now.

The lawsuit, filed by an anonymous woman referred to as Jane Doe in the documents, alleges she first met Gooding at a Greenwich Village restaurant, where he invited her and a friend to have drinks at the Mercer Hotel. He then coaxed the woman up to his room, saying he needed to change clothes, according to the lawsuit, and when she attempted to leave, Gooding blocked her exit, pushed her onto the bed and raped her, despite her saying “no” many times. After the alleged assault, the woman says Gooding raped her again as she attempted to get away.

Gloria Allred, the famous women’s rights lawyer, is one of the attorneys representing the woman accusing Gooding, claiming in the lawsuit that he violated New York City’s law protecting victims targeted because of their gender and caused the plaintiff physical and emotional injury. The actor’s lawyer, Mark J. Heller, told The New York Times that the claims in the lawsuit are “completely false and defamatory,” noting they have not resulted in criminal charges in the seven years since the alleged assault. Allred declined to comment to the Times about if the district attorney’s office or the New York Police Department has been informed of or investigating her client’s claims, and a spokesperson for the police department also declined to comment.

The groping allegations against Gooding went public last year when a woman reported him to police for allegedly squeezing her breast at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar at the Moxy NYC Times Square hotel. Afterward, two other women came forward with similar claims that resulted in three criminal charges of groping. Attorneys also documented claims from another 19 women who accused Gooding of unwanted sexual touching, two of whom will be allowed to testify during his upcoming trial. Assistant district attorney Jenna Long said last week in court that the total number of women who had come forward with accusations against Gooding had risen to 30, as the trial was supposed to begin in April, but was stalled by the coronavirus pandemic.