Ashley Judd’s Legal Victory Against Harvey Weinstein

According to Variety, a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a previous ruling that dismissed Judd’s lawsuit on the grounds that she was not Weinstein’s employee when the alleged s**ual harassment took place.

The recent decision acknowledges that Weinstein held influence over Judd’s career during their encounter at the Peninsula Hotel in the mid-1990s, where Judd claims the harassment occurred.

Allegedly, Weinstein enticed Judd to his hotel room, asked her to witness him shower, and attempted to provide her with a massage.

In a statement attributed to Judd’s attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous, it was expressed that the ruling is significant not just for Judd but for all individuals facing s**ual harassment in professional settings.

The panel, led by Judge Mary H. Murguia, highlighted the power dynamics at play in Judd and Weinstein’s relationship, asserting that Weinstein’s stature as a prominent Hollywood producer granted him leverage over Judd, leading to the dismissal of Judd’s original s**ual harassment claim.

Initially filed in April 2018, Judd’s lawsuit emerged following claims that Weinstein influenced director Peter Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh to exclude Judd from their Lord of the Rings projects after she rejected his advances.

Judd, who was the first actress to publicly speak out against Weinstein in collaboration with New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, aims to seek economic redress for the harm inflicted on her career due to alleged s**ual harassment.

Weinstein, a convicted rapist, faced criminal charges and was sentenced to 23 years in prison earlier this year, though the Manhattan trial focused primarily on the accusations brought forth by former production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi and aspiring actress Jessica Mann, despite numerous other women coming forward with similar allegations.