Cuba Gooding Jr. Sued for Sexual Assault by Two Women

Cuba Gooding Jr. is facing sexual assault lawsuits from two women who claim that he groped them in separate incidents in New York City in 2018 and 2019.

Both lawsuits were filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday under the Adult Survivors Act, expiring on Thursday, which gives plaintiffs a one-year window to file civil claims for sexual offenses outside the statue of limitations.

Notable figures including Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, comedian Bill Cosby, rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have also faced last-minute lawsuits before the window expires.

In the 2018 complaint, obtained by The Messenger, a woman who was working as a cocktail waitress at LAVO restaurant and nightclub in New York alleged that Gooding "forced his tongue in her mouth" without consent.

Gooding pleaded guilty to a criminal forcible touching charge in connection with the incident last year. In an April 2022 plea hearing, Gooding said that he "kissed the waitress on the lips" without permission.

In the 2019 filing, also obtained by The Messenger, Kelsey Harbert said that Gooding groped her thigh and breast after she approached him and sat down next to his girlfriend at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge.

"So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw a flash of movement, and felt his hand on my breast, groping it, feeling around on it, as if I was a piece of meat," Harbert stated in court last year.

Harbert filed a police report the next morning. Gooding was arrested and again pleaded guilty to forcible touching, admitting in a 2022 hearing that he subjected the plaintiff to "nonconsensual physical contact."

Both women are seeking damages for lost wages, emotional, mental and physical injury and attorneys' fees.

A representative for Gooding did not immediately respond to The Messenger's request for comment.

Gloria Allred, who is representing the two plaintiffs, said in a statement, per Deadline, "Our clients were deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case. They are now seeking justice and accountability in their civil cases. We are proud of their courage and intend to vigorously fight for them until they win the justice that they deserve."

In June, Gooding reached a last-minute settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her in a Manhattan hotel room a decade ago.