Vin Diesel’s Company Fighting Actor’s Ex-Assistant in Court Over Bombshell Sexual Battery Allegation
March 12 2024, Published 12:35 p.m. ET
Vin Diesel’s production company denied all allegations of wrongdoing in the bombshell sexual battery lawsuit brought by the actor’s ex-assistant.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, lawyers for One Race Films, the production company formed by Diesel in 1995, asked a court to dismiss all claims brought by Asta Jonasson.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, in December 2023, Jonasson sued the actor, his production company One Race Films, and Diesel’s sister Samantha Vincent.
Samantha serves as President of One Race Films.
In her suit, Jonasson claimed she was hired by Diesel’s production company in 2010 to work as the actor’s assistant on Fast 5.
The project was filmed in Georgia. Jonasson said she was at Diesel’s suite at the St. Regis hotel where he was hanging with several women.
Jonasson said the women eventually left and she was instructed to get Diesel out of the hotel without being photographed, the suit claimed.
The woman claimed in her lawsuit that Diesel forced himself on her inside the hotel room. She claimed he groped her breast and kissed her without consent.
She said Diesel continued his assault by pulling up her dress and attempting to take off her underwear. She claimed the actor put her against the wall and grabbed her hand. She said he placed her hand on his penis and then stripped down to his underwear.
Jonasson said he pulled down his underwear and started to pleasure himself, per the suit. The assistant claimed she closed her eyes and tried not to think about the incident.
In the suit, Jonasson claimed Diesel finished and then told her, “No one can say s--- about Asta” and then left her.
Jonasson said Diesel’s sister called her after the incident and fired her. She believes it was because she didn’t comply with Diesel’s sexual requests.
Her suit read, “For years, Ms. Jonasson remained silent, afraid to speak out against one of the world’s highest-grossing actors, afraid she would be ostracized from the industry which had a pattern of protecting powerful men and silencing survivors of sexual harassment and assault, and concerned that as a green card holder that speaking out could jeopardize her potential future citizenship.”
“Indeed, One Race required all employees to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent them from discussing anything related to Vin Diesel,” the suit read. “Empowered by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, and with the protection of the Speak Out Act and recent revival of her claims by AB2777, Ms. Jonasson is unwilling to remain silent any longer and seeks to reclaim her agency and justice for the suffering she endured at the hands of Vin Diesel and One Race.”
At the time, Diesel’s powerhouse attorney Bryan Freedman said about the suit, “Let me be very clear, Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety. 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.”
In the newly field response, One Race Films argued, “[Race One] is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that the Complaint, and each and every cause of action stated therein, is barred as [Jonasson] knowingly and voluntarily relinquished and waived any and all rights she may have had arising from the allegations set forth in the Complaint, and [Jonasson] waived the breaches and conduct, if any, of which she now complains.”
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Further, the company argued, “that the Complaint, and each and every cause of action stated therein, is barred by reason of Plaintiff's consent.”
Regarding her termination, One Race argued “that all actions taken by Defendant with respect to Plaintiff, at all times relevant to the Complaint, were taken in good faith for legitimate non-discriminatory purposes.”
Diesel has yet to file his official answer to the suit.
