A new accuser has come forward against Harvey Weinstein, alleging that he attempted to rape her nearly a decade ago and that she injured his genitals while fighting back, the New York Post reports.
Details of the allegations come from a lawsuit filed Friday by Hayley Gripp, who says she was accosted by Weinstein in a Beverly Hills hotel room in November 2012.
Gripp was just 19 years old at the time.
According to the complaint, obtained by the Post, Gripp was in the hotel lobby waiting for a casting session when she was approached by a female Weinstein associate. The two began talking, and Gripp discussed her life, including that she has Tourette’s syndrome.
The woman suggested that Gripp meet a “big producer,” who she said was a friend, in one of the hotel rooms.
Gripp agreed, and when she entered the hotel room, a man introduced himself as “Don.”
The associate gave Gripp a glass of wine, but Gripp said she was not yet of drinking age. The Post reports that the woman allegedly responded, “It’s rude not to accept a drink from someone who feeds you and shows you hospitality.”
After drinking about half the wine, Gripp says she blacked out, and that when she came to, Weinstein was rubbing against her.
“You are so wet and tight; you are a virgin aren’t you?” Weinstein allegedly told Gripp, according to the newspaper. He also said that Gripp should “pretend I’m someone like Zac Efron.”
“Ms. Gripp did not realize Weinstein’s fingers were inside her vagina until she felt the cold metal of his watch against her skin,” the lawsuit alleges, according to the Post.
“Weinstein then held Ms. Gripp down with one hand, took Ms. Gripp’s genital fluids, and rubbed it on his exposed genitalia, proceeding to masturbate with his other hand.”
“To escape his hold, Ms. Gripp began flailing her arms and, in doing so, broke her acrylic nail against the coffee table,” the complaint read. “Ms. Gripp then stabbed Weinstein on the bottom part of his scrotum with her sharp broken nail.”
Weinstein allegedly uttered a “quiet scream” and grabbed Gripp’s hand, but doing that lodged her nail deeper into Weinstein’s scrotum, the Post reports.
Gripp’s allegations provide a possible explanation for the deformed appearance of Weinstein’s genitals. Another victim has described “extreme scarring” on Weinstein’s penis, which she said she saw when he raped her in March 2013 in Manhattan.
The scarring was reportedly caused by “Fournier’s gangrene,” which is an infection caused by bacteria that enters the body through a cut or scratch, according to the Post.
Gripp ran out of the room when Weinstein sought a towel. She was then stopped by the associate, who threatened her.
“What happened in there is your fault because of your Tourette syndrome. You are crazy,” the associate allegedly said.
If Gripp told anyone about the encounter, the woman said Gripp would “end up in a mental hospital,” the lawsuit alleges, according to the newspaper.
Gripp did not report the incident to law enforcement, nor did she participate in the $17 million settlement from Weinstein’s numerous other accusers. She says she did not realize the attacker was Weinstein until she saw his face in news reporting in 2017.
“Ms. Gripp did not report this crime to police for the same reason that nearly 80 percent of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported,” Christa Riggins, one of Gripp’s lawyers, told the Post.
“At this time, Ms. Gripp does not intend to file criminal charges because Harvey Weinstein has received what amounts to a lifetime sentence and is unable to abuse another woman. However, Hayley will fully cooperate with the Los Angeles Police Department or any other agency regarding an investigation or prosecution against Harvey Weinstein.”
Gripp’s lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. She now works as an advocate for children who have suffered trauma or have special needs.
The lawsuit states that Gripp passed a polygraph test, the results of which were provided to the Post.
Weinstein was convicted in February 2020 of rape and other sex crimes, for which he is serving a 23-year prison sentence. His lawyer told the Post that he refutes Gripp’s allegations.
“Mr. Weinstein categorically denies the allegations made against him in the complaint that has come out of the woodwork, and intends to vigorously defend against the lawsuit,” Imran H. Ansari told the newspaper.
Gripp has been since diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“This lawsuit is about Ms. Gripp reclaiming her power, becoming a survivor, not a victim, and getting restitution for the sexual crimes perpetrated against her. She has real damages from this that are lasting,” Eric Lerner, another attorney for Gripp, told the Post.
“Harvey Weinstein along with those who helped him perpetrate these crimes of sexual assault and attempted rape against Ms. Gripp must be held responsible for ruining her life.”
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[Feature Photo: Harvey Weinstein via AP/John Minchillo]
