Paul Schrader, who is known for his work on Martin Scorsese's films, has been accused of sexual harassment and of going back on an agreement that was made with his assistant to pay her a settlement, reports Variety.
The woman alleges that during the premiere of his film Oh, Canada in May 2024, Schrader grabbed her and kissed her without her consent. She added that she protested his actions, freed herself and fled the room. Three days later, she alleges that he asked her to his room under the pretext that he was "dying" but then exposed his penis.
The assistant is a 26-year-old woman identified as Jane Doe, a name used in the US legal system to aid the plaintiff in remaining anonymous. The lawyers representing her filed a motion in a state court in New York to enforce the agreement after Schrader backed out of it.
The lawyers for Schrader have argued that in the years that the assistant has worked, she did not indicate anything other than enthusiasm and that this claim for breach of contract is desperate, opportunistic, and frivolous.
The assistant was fired in September 2023 and has described that during her employment, she had to put up with 'inappropriate sexual questions and lewd and misogynistic commentary'. According to her lawyers, she was fired after she refused to assent to Schrader's advances. It was in the subsequent months that her lawyers reached an agreement with Schrader to pay a sum, which was to remain confidential. But after several weeks of delay in signing the agreement, Schrader decided he would not accept the agreement. The assistant's lawyers said that the agreement was binding, regardless.