Hollywood star Vin Diesel is facing serious legal trouble after his former Assistant Asta Jonasson sued him for sexual battery. Vin Diesel has been accused of forcing himself on Asta Jonasson on the sets of Fast 5. Asta Jonasson in her lawsuit claimed that the sexual battery incident took place at the St. Regis resort in Atlanta in 2010 while Diesel was filming Fast 5. Asta has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles. Notably, Asta in her lawsuit has given a vivid description of what Vin Diesel did to her on the Fast 5 sets and how she was fired moments after that by the actor's sister Samantha Vincent. Below is everything to know about Vin Diesel's sexual battery case-
What did Vin Diesel do?
As per the lawsuit filed, Asta Johnson claimed that she was tasked to escort Vin Diesel out of his hotel to avoid the paparazzi and the press from his room. When Asta went to Diesel's room, the actor allegedly sexually attacked her.
Asta in her lawsuit claimed Vin Diesel 'grabbed Ms. Jonasson’s wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed." Thereafter, Asta requested Vin Diesel to stop forcing himself upon her and quickly escaped from the bed before heading to the suite door and asking the actor to leave.
However, Diesel followed her to the doorstep and stopped her by the door, kissing and placing his hands on her chest despite pleas for Diesel to stop. Notably, Asta who has recently graduated from a film school in her lawsuit explained that she feared for her personal safety and job security and did not initially use force to refuse Diesel's advances.
"But this hope died when Vin Diesel dropped to his knees, pushed Ms. Jonasson’s dress up toward her waist, and molested her body, running his hands over Ms. Jonasson’s upper legs, including her inner thighs," says Asta's lawsuit. The suit continued to note that Diesel allegedly tried to pull down Jonasson's underwear, at which point she screamed and ran down the hallway toward the bathroom.
Vin Diesel did not stop there. The Fast & Furious actor pinned her against the wall and placed her hand on his genitals. "Terrified, Ms. Jonasson closed her eyes, trying to dissociate from the sexual assault and avoid angering him," it continued.
After the incident, Asta was fired from her job by Samantha Vincent.
Now, coming to the charges Vin Diesel is facing- the lawsuit claims sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, hostile work environment, discrimination based on sex/gender, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Vin Diesel's response to sexual battery allegations
Vin Diesel's attorney was quoted by a US media portal saying that the claims made by Asta are 'Outlandish'. Diesel’s attorney Bryan Freedman was quoted saying, "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 the 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly nine-day employee....There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations."