A former actress is ignoring a non-disclosure agreement she signed nearly 30 years ago to talk for the first time about allegedly being assaulted by Val Kilmer during an audition for the 1991 film The Doors.
Caitlin O’Heaney, best known for playing Sarah Stickney White on the ABC series Tales of the Gold Monkey, detailed the incident to Buzzfeed News. She said that she is speaking out now because she was inspired by the women who came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment.
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The alleged assault took place in 1989 when O’Heaney, 64, landed an audition for the lead female role in Oliver Stone‘s film The Doors. The scene to be read during the audition included a verbal argument, but it did not call for any physical violence. She said that during the audition, Kilmer, 57, struck her in the face and knocked her to the ground.
“When I got to the room and Val Kilmer picked me up and shaked me, throwing me down to the floor, Stone just stood there the whole time laughing,” O’Heaney said. “I went down to my car and I cried for about 20 minutes.”
Shortly after the alleged assault, O’Heaney’ filed a police report for battery with the Los Angeles Police Department. The report, quoted by Buzzfeed, reads “Vict and susp (actor) were reading a script for a movie role, susp became angry and stuck vict on her face with his closed fist. Susp grabbed vict and pushed her to the floor. Susp jumped on vict + held her down.”
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Risa Bramon Garcia, the film’s casting director, was also in the room when the alleged assault took place and believes that O’Heaney reaction was “blown out of proportion.” She told Buzzfeed that all actresses auditioning for the part were warned that the scene could result in physical contact.
“It was way blown out of proportion,” she said. “I am not somebody who takes this stuff lightly. I can tell the difference between something that’s abusive and a moment that got carried away … but it was all in the context of the work. [O’Heaney had] a very extreme reaction to a situation that to me was not extreme at all.”
The actress ultimately ended up settling with Stone, Kilmer, and Carolco Pictures for $24,500, but O’Heaney claims that she only received about $8,000 after taxes. She also signed a non-disclosure agreement.
