Paul Schrader accused of sexually harassing former assistant and reneging on settlement
Paul Schrader has been accused of sexually harassing a former assistant and then reneging on a settlement agreement.
The 26-year-old – known only as ‘Jane Doe’ – claimed Schrader kissed her against her will while they were attending the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his new film Oh, Canada. She claimed that she protested against his advances but could not get away from him and leave the room.
She alleges that the situation became even worse three days later when the 78-year-old writer/director summoned her to his room and claimed he was dying, before then exposing his penis.
Throughout her employment, she claimed she was subjected to “near-constant inappropriate sexual questions and lewd and misogynistic commentary.” She alleges that Schrader professed his love to her verbally and in writing, and when she spurned his advances, her employment was terminated.
The accuser’s attorneys claim Schrader’s legal team subsequently agreed to pay her a settlement, but after he did some “soul searching,” he backed out of the arrangement. A motion has been filed in New York state court to enforce the agreement and to claim back legal costs.
The Taxi Driver scribe’s lawyer, Philip Kessler, told Variety that his client never signed the agreement, so it can’t legally be enforced. He also claimed Jane Doe’s allegations are loaded “with inaccuracies” and are “materially misleading,” pointing out that she happily attended many events with Schrader over the three-and-a-half years of her employment.
“In none of those instances did the plaintiff indicate anything other than enthusiasm about appearing with Mr Schrader,” Kessler noted. He also alleged that she spoke positively about Schrader on social media, but as soon as her legal team sent their demands, these posts were deleted.
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