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Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel has been accused of sexual battery by his former assistant. Newsweek has obtained the complaint filed in a Los Angeles court and publishes it here.
Asta Jonasson alleges the actor forced himself on her in a hotel suite in Atlanta, while the pair were working on Fast Five, the document states.
Her lawsuit says she tried to escape the room after Diesel forced her onto his bed, but the actor groped her and performed a sex act on himself.
She says that she fled the room and he then fired her.
"It was clear to her that she was being fired because she was no longer useful—Vin Diesel had used her to fulfill his sexual desires and she had resisted his sexual assaults," the lawsuit says.
As a result, her self-esteem was "demolished" and she felt like "a piece of trash."
She is also suing 20 others whose real names she doesn't yet know and are referred to in her lawsuit as "Does 1 through 20"—a reference to the fictitious names "John Doe" and "Jane Doe" used in court filings for people whose names are unknown. All of them in some way assisted Vin Diesel in carrying out his illegal acts against her, the document says.
In addition, she is also suing Vin Diesel's sister, Samantha Vincent, who works with him, and his production company, One Race Films Inc.
Newsweek sought email comment from Diesel's attorney on Friday.
Jonasson's complaint states that she was involved in film production for over 10 years before she met Vin Diesel and that his film company wrongly claimed in a job interview that she would be working on the Fast and Furious films.
However, once she was hired on about September 2, 2010, she realized that she was being hired as an assistant to Vin Diesel and his family and that her filmmaking skills were not being used.
She flew to Atlanta during filming of Fast Five, the fifth Fast and Furious film.
A film supervisor led her from Vin Diesel's room to another hotel bedroom, where he took his shirt off, got into bed and said: "Come on!" She fled the room, the lawsuit states.
Days later, she had to go to a nightclub, where Vin Diesel was "surrounded by club hostesses" who were wearing "lingerie-inspired outfits."
Later that night, she, Vin Diesel, "four or five" club hostesses and others returned to the St. Regis hotel in Atlanta where Diesel has several rooms, including a large suite.
He disappeared into a hotel bedroom with one of the hostesses and, when he was later alone with Jonasson, he allegedly dropped to his knees and tried to have sex with her.
"Vin Diesel ignored Ms Jonasson's clear statements of non-consent to his sexual assaults," the lawsuit reads.
Jonasson remained silent for years "afraid to speak out against one of the world's highest-grossing actors, afraid she would be ostracized from the industry", her lawyers claim.
"Sexual harassment in the workplace will never stop if powerful men are protected from accountability," Jonasson's lawyer, Claire-Lise Kutlay, said in a statement.
"We hope her courageous decision to come forward helps create lasting change and empowers other survivors."
Jonasson is suing Diesel and his company for creating a hostile work environment, negligent supervision and wrongful termination, among her other claims.
Diesel has starred as Dominic Toretto since the Fast And Furious franchise's first movie in 2001.
About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more