Filmmaker Paul Schrader, known for penning Taxi Driver and directing American Gigolo, faces serious allegations in a newly filed lawsuit from his former personal assistant.
The legal action, submitted Thursday in a New York court, claims the 78-year-old industry veteran sexually assaulted the assistant, terminated her employment when she rejected his advances, and subsequently backed out of a confidential settlement agreement, according to AP News.
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The former employee, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents to protect her privacy, alleges multiple incidents of inappropriate behavior, most notably during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival while promoting Schrader’s latest film Oh, Canada. The 26-year-old assistant claims Schrader trapped her in his hotel room, forcibly kissed her against her will, and later exposed himself when she returned to help him pack.
Court documents detail a disturbing pattern of behavior, with the plaintiff’s attorney, Gregory Chiarello, asserting that Schrader subjected Doe to “a sexually hostile, intimidating, and humiliating environment on a daily, if not hourly, basis” during her employment from May 2021 to September 2024. The allegations include “forced exposure of his genitals, unwanted sexual advances, repeatedly professing his love and desire to touch Ms. Doe,” along with “inappropriate sexual questions and lewd and misogynistic commentary.”
The lawsuit centers on enforcing a settlement allegedly reached in February that Schrader subsequently abandoned. According to Doe’s filing, the filmmaker agreed to settlement terms on February 5 but later changed his mind following an illness and period of “soul searching,” with his attorneys conveying in March that he “could not live with the settlement.”
Schrader’s legal representative, Philip J. Kessler, has forcefully denied the allegations, telling AP News the lawsuit is “desperate, opportunistic and frivolous” and that many claims are “false or materially misleading.” Kessler specifically rejected any notion of a sexual relationship between Schrader and his former assistant and disputed the settlement enforcement argument, stating: “The agreement… required both parties to sign it before it became legally effective. Mr. Schrader declined to sign it.”
The lawsuit claims that following Doe’s termination in September, Schrader sent an email expressing concern he had become “a Harvey Weinstein” in her perception, referencing the disgraced producer whose case ignited the #MeToo movement.
Schrader’s five-decade career includes collaborations with Martin Scorsese on classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. His directorial resume encompasses 23 films, with his 2017 work First Reformed earning him his sole Academy Award nomination.
The settlement amount remains undisclosed in court documents. Doe is seeking enforcement of the original agreement plus additional damages, including interest, legal fees, and a 10% penalty on the settlement sum.
