Movies

Vin Diesel accused of sexual battery by former assistant in lawsuit

A woman alleges that the actor assaulted her in 2010, while he was filming the fifth "Fast & Furious" film. Diesel denies the claim.

By

Jessica Wang

Updated on December 21, 2023 09:18PM EST

Vin Diesel has been hit with a lawsuit accusing him of sexual battery from a woman who briefly worked as his assistant over a decade ago.

In the suit filed Thursday in Los Angeles and obtained by PEOPLE, a woman named Asta Jonasson, who at the time was a recent Los Angeles film school graduate, alleges Diesel groped her, forcibly kissed her, and masturbated in front of her in his hotel room in Atlanta in September 2010, while she was working for him during the filming of the fifth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise.

The alleged assault occurred at the St. Regis hotel, where Jonasson was instructed by Diesel's security to retrieve him to leave for another location, but he wasn't answering his phone. In the suite, Diesel allegedly grabbed Jonasson's wrists and "entrapped" her before he later groped her, attempted to remove her underwear, and masturbated as he pinned her against the wall despite her pleas for him to stop.

Jonasson also accuses Diesel's production company, One Race Productions, of wrongful termination, retaliation, and negligent supervision and retention, claiming that hours after the alleged assault, the company informed her that her services were no longer required and terminated her.

"The message was clear," the complaint reads, asserting that Jonasson had been "fired for courageously resisting" the alleged assault and that it would be "covered up."

An attorney for Diesel, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to EW, "Let me be very clear Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety." He added, "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."

According to the complaint, Jonasson signed a nondisclosure agreement that prevented her from speaking out, but she was able to file the claims due to the Speak Out Act, which averts nondisclosures in instances of sexual assault or harassment, and California's AB 2777, which temporarily waives the statutes of limitations.

With legislation allowing for older claims to be brought forth despite the statute of limitations, a slew of high-profile men have since been hit with sexual assault lawsuits, including Sean "Diddy" Combs, Russell Brand, and Axl Rose.

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