Cuba Gooding Jr. Admits to Kissing Waitress Without Her Consent

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. admitted Wednesday in court that he kissed a waitress without consent at a New York nightclub in 2018.

Gooding, 54, pleaded guilty to forcibly touching the woman, saying he "kissed the waitress on her lips" without consent, in a deal that does not call for him to face jail time, the Associated Press reported. He was arrested and charged nearly three years ago, but the proceedings were drawn out as his lawyers worked to have the charges against him dismissed or reduced.

Gooding, known for roles in films like Jerry Maguire and Radio, has been accused of touching three different women without their consent in Manhattan in 2018 and 2019. But his guilty plea on Wednesday only covered one of those allegations, involving the woman he said he kissed without consent at the LAVO New York nightclub, the AP reported.

His plea deal in the case stipulates that if he continues counseling for six months, he can withdraw his misdemeanor plea and instead plead guilty to harassment, a less serious violation, according to the AP.

Gooding's June 2019 arrest came after a 29-year-old woman alleged that while at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square, he squeezed her breast without her consent. Gooding was also accused by a server at TAO Downtown of making a sexually suggestive remark to her and then pinching her buttocks in 2018, according to the AP.

While the New York case was limited to the three women, more have come forward with violation accusations against the actor.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office asked a judge to allow 19 other women who had accused Gooding of similar behavior to testify as witnesses in his case if it went to trial, The New York Times reported. The judge initially ruled that two of the additional women could testify, which would have provided an opportunity to argue that Gooding had displayed a pattern of such conduct, but prosecutors said Wednesday that the judge later reversed that decision to let the two women testify, the AP reported.

The actor initially denied all the allegations against him and pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts, according to the AP. He appeared in court on Wednesday to enter his guilty plea.

"I apologize for ever making anybody feel inappropriately touched," Gooding was quoted by the Times as saying in court.

Another woman accused Gooding of raping her in New York City in 2013 and has sued the actor, but he is working to fight the allegations, the AP reported.

Frank Rothman, Gooding's lawyer, told Newsweek that he thinks the outcome in court Wednesday was "fair to everyone involved."

"I think it's appropriate and I think it's in the interest of justice. And certainly he's relieved and I'm satisfied that we were able to get to a place that this case needed to go to," Rothman added.

Update 4/14/22, 12:23 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.