Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for September 25
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Actress Charlotte Kirk claims in a recently filed lawsuit she had non-consensual sex under duress with former Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara because she feared for her safety and career, according to a new report.
Tsujihara stepped down last year after it was revealed through a series of text messages that he allegedly promised Kirk acting roles and auditions in exchange for a sexual relationship. He has denied it was non-consensual.
The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday published a lengthy report headlined, “Charlotte Kirk, Kevin Tsujihara and a Non-Consensual Sex Allegation That Sparked a Secret Legal Saga,” which indicated Kirk has “filed an explosive petition to vacate a gag order that has kept her mostly silent amid a years-long battle” with the former Warner Bros. honcho and associates.
Actress Charlotte Kirk said she had had non-consensual sex, under duress because she feared for her safety and career, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images)
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The Hollywood Reporter’s Tatiana Siegel wrote that Kirk filed the petition against Tsujihara and movie moguls James Packer, Brett Ratner and Avi Lerner on Sept. 3 in Los Angeles Superior Court with pseudonyms being used for the five key players.
“The petition, which is under conditional seal but has been viewed by THR, is aiming to vacate a gag order that has kept Kirk mostly silent amid a years-long legal saga involving some of Hollywood’s most prominent litigators. At the crux of the battle is an incident that took place at the Hotel Bel-Air the night of Sept. 26, 2013, and Kirk’s ability to speak freely about it,” Siegel wrote.
Charlotte Kirk has appeared in films including “Ocean’s 8,” “How To Be Single,” The Reckoning” and “Vice.” (Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)
The 2013 incident began when Packer invited then-21-year-old struggling actress Kirk to a Hotel Bel-Air suite for “the opportunity of a lifetime” and an introduction to Tsujihara, according to Siegel. The report cites text messages that claim Kirk texted Packer that Tsujihara was only interested in having sex once she got to the hotel room.
“His [sic] not very nice! Very pushy!! He just wants to f--- nothing else does not even want To say anything!” Kirk allegedly wrote to Packer after the meeting (via THR).
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She was reportedly told to “be cool” in response, but not much else was known about the encounter until THR published details of the petition.
“The petition, filed by Kirk’s lawyers at Fagelbaum & Heller, fills in several blanks and paints a picture of Tsujihara engaging in non-consensual sex facilitated by Packer, marking a dramatic turn in the narrative as it has been disseminated in the press but consistent with tips THR received back in 2017,” Siegel wrote.
Citing the filing, THR indicated that Kirk allegedly entered the room and saw Tsujihara “naked on the bed and demanding sex” and when the actress refused she was blocked “from leaving and menacingly told her she had to have sex with” the movie mogul.
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“Fearing for her personal safety, being blacklisted and the destruction of her career before it ever began, she complied with Mr. [Packer’s] demands and engaged in non-consensual intercourse with Mr. [Tsujihara] under duress,” Siegel wrote.
Tsuijhara's attorney blasted the claims in a statement to Fox News on Friday.
“The recently published Hollywood Reporter story is comprised of lies and twisted facts, and is outright wrong in many respects,” Tsujihara’s personal attorney Bert H. Deixle told the outlet.
Kevin Tsujihara's personal attorney Bert H. Deixle denied his client had non-consensual sex with Kirk. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
“Despite being provided with evidence to refute several purported claims, The Hollywood Reporter recklessly included these blatant falsehoods. Any claims made against Kevin Tsujihara related to Ms. Kirk are legally and factually baseless, manufactured many years after their brief consensual relationship to unjustly seek the payment of money. The relationship was pursued by Ms. Kirk and at all times understood by Kevin to be entirely consensual. While Kevin continues to regret the relationship and the impact it had on his family, he will pursue all legal remedies available to protect himself from extortionate claims and prevent false accusations against him.”
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Marty Singer, who represents Packer, Ratner and Lerner also issued a statement on the matter to Fox News.
“My clients are the victims of a multimillion-dollar civil extortion plot perpetrated by Charlotte Kirk, her former boyfriend Joshua Newton and her latest paramour Neil Marshall. After years of ever-evolving and wildly untrue allegations of misconduct in an increasingly outlandish hunt for money, this past Spring, they threatened to smear my clients and they collectively demanded a mindboggling $335 million," Singer said.
Singer's statement went on to say that Kirk, Newton and Marshall were prohibited from filing "any lawsuit against my clients," citing an agreement the parties entered into.
"They have now, of course, ignored that order and not only filed this suit but also leaked it -- when it was allegedly under seal -- to a friendly reporter," he continued.
Singer concluded in his statement that the claims against his clients are "ludicrous, offensive and entirely false."
A lawyer for Kirk did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Kirk has been at the center of two news-making sex scandals that both resulted in high-powered entertainment executives losing their jobs. In addition to the on-going situation surrounding Tsujihara, she also played a role in longtime NBCUniversal executive Ron Meyer leaving the company after admitting an extramarital affair with the actress.
“Whether or not consensual, what followed the night at the Hotel Bel-Air appears to have been a wide-ranging cover-up that involved some of Hollywood’s most powerful men... including Meyer,” Siegel wrote. “THR has pieced together the three-year saga via a series of legal documents — most of them are not publicly available, while others are public but contain pseudonyms — and corroborated by email exchanges between the parties.”
Siegel then explained that many text messages are inconclusive when it comes to proving consent. Various settlements and statements are also disputed by parties involved.
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“On Oct. 2, a judge will decide whether the petition can be kept under seal. It could prove to be a groundbreaking case that tests the enforceability of confidentiality agreements, which have a long, ugly history in Hollywood as a tool to prey upon the most vulnerable,” Siegel wrote, citing California Sen. Connie Leyva, an opponent of secret settlements.
“In the meantime, she remains unable to speak out and address the situation — a necessary step to resume her career as an actress. Still claiming to be owed $1.8 million from of the original settlement agreement, she faces a pivotal moment in her case,” Siegel wrote. “For now, Kirk cannot publicly address the Hotel Bel-Air incident, a night that mobilized some of the most influential men in Hollywood and their high-paid lawyers to keep her silent.”
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