British actress Kadian Noble claims Harvey Weinstein assaulted her in Cannes hotel room, files lawsuit for sex trafficking

The alleged incident took place in Cannes, France, in 2014.

ByABC News
November 28, 2017, 2:53 PM

— -- An aspiring British actress tearfully described Tuesday how Harvey Weinstein in 2014 made her stand in front of a bathroom mirror and forced her to perform a sex act while pretending to be interested in her career.

Kadian Noble has become the 86th woman to publicly accuse the disgraced movie mogul of sexual assault. Noble is not only suing Weinstein; she's going after him as an alleged sex trafficker.

In her lawsuit, she accuses The Weinstein Company of violating federal sex trafficking laws by "benefiting from, and knowingly facilitating, the venture in which Harvey Weinstein traveled in foreign commerce to recruit or entice female actors into forced or coerced sexual encounters on the promise of roles."

According to Noble's lawsuit, it was “common practice” of Weinstein and “well-known” to his brother Bob Weinstein that Harvey Weinstein would travel abroad and to different states to recruit, solicit and entice young female actresses with promises of film roles only to then use force, fraud or coercion to engage them in sex. She is seeking damages under U.S. sex trafficking laws.

At a press conference today in New York, Noble addressed Harvey Weinstein directly: "You completely misused the gift that you have to create magic in this world to absolutely take advantage of people."

Her lawsuit claims Harvey Weinstein asked her to his Le Majestic hotel room in Cannes in 2014 “to review her reel with her and discuss further steps in securing the role he had previously targeted for her.”

Once there, the lawsuit said Harvey Weinstein “began massaging Kadian and then gripped her shoulders.”

The lawsuit claims Harvey Weinstein told Noble that for “audition purposes” she needed to walk up and down the room for him, which she did.

Harvey Weinstein then allegedly called an unnamed Weinstein Company producer in the United States and put him on the phone with Noble, the lawsuit said. The Weinstein Company producer allegedly told Noble that she needed to be “a good girl and do whatever he wished,” and if she did, then “they would work” with her further, the lawsuit said.

Harvey Weinstein then allegedly pulled her closer and groped her breasts. She resisted, exclaiming, “No, Harvey, no," the suit said.

However, at the same time, Noble felt compelled to comply with Harvey Weinstein's demands because of the tangible and intangible benefits he offered to advance her career, according to the suit.

Weinstein allegedly pulled Noble into the bathroom and told her to relax while he gripped her firmly. He then started to rub her breast and buttocks, according to the suit. Noble allegedly told him to stop and tried to leave the bathroom, but Weinstein blocked her exit, according to the suit.

Weinstein then pulled down Noble’s shirt and forced his leg between her legs, and rubbed her genitals and began masturbating, the suit said.

Noble again implored him to stop, and struggled against him physically, trying to escape the bathroom, according to the suit. Weinstein then continued to sexually assault her, the suit said.

A representative for Harvey Weinstein said in a statement, “Mr. Weinstein denies allegations of non-consensual sex. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”

Neither a representative for Bob Weinstein nor The Weinstein Company immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

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