Latest news with #PaulHaggis
Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Rape charges against Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis dropped
A judge in the southern Italian town of Brindisi has agreed not to pursue rape charges against the Oscar-winning Canadian film director Paul Haggis three years after Haggis was arrested at a film festival in Puglia. Judge Vilma Gilli accepted a prosecutor's request to drop the case against Haggis, who was arrested in 2022 while in Puglia to make a promotional film and attend the Allora Film Festival in Ostuni. Haggis won Oscars for writing Million Dollar Baby, which was directed by Clint Eastwood and named best picture in 2005, and for directing the following year's best picture winner, Crash. Haggis, 72, was put under house arrest for two weeks in June 2022 after being accused of sexual assault and aggravated injuries by
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rape case against Paul Haggis in Italy is dismissed. His U.S. lawyer suggests it was a setup
A rape case against "Crash" Oscar winner Paul Haggis was dismissed Wednesday in Italy. On Thursday, his U.S. attorney suggested that the Italian allegations were planned to hurt his chances in a New York civil case that cost him $10 million. A judge in the Italian city of Brindisi ruled that no sex acts took place without consent, Haggis' lawyers told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman had accused the writer-director of raping her repeatedly over the course of two days in 2022 while they were both in town for Allora Fest, an entertainment-industry event. Read more: Paul Haggis found liable in rape case; hit with $7.5-million judgment and more to come "For Mr. Haggis, it is the end of a nightmare that has unfairly shattered the career of a film genius and 2006 Oscar winner," lawyers Michele Laforgia and Daniele Romeo said in a statement to the wire service. After the criminal allegations were made, Haggis was detained by police in June, then held under house arrest at his hotel until he was ordered released on July 4, 2022. He maintained he was innocent of the charges. 'Being accused of sexual violence, something that I did not do, was devastating and something I hope no innocent person will ever experience,' Haggis said in a translated interview with Italian news outlet La Repubblica in July 2022. An Englishwoman who was 30 at the time said he forced her to have sex with him over two days at a bed-and-breakfast in Puglia and then dropped her off at a nearby airport while she was in a state of confusion. 'As I told the judge, my first mistake was allowing someone who I hardly knew to come and visit me. It was foolish,' Haggis said in the July 12, 2022, interview. 'The second mistake was on the last morning after an incident occurred that I personally found particularly unpleasant, I decided to end this situation; I took this person to the airport hours before her flight. I'm upset with myself for these errors in judgment but cannot comprehend that they resulted in false and damaging accusations against me.' Read more: How Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegedly used his empire and employees to 'get his way' with women The "Million Dollar Baby" writer said in the interview that he lost at least two writing jobs because of his arrest. On Thursday, the attorney who represented him in the October 2022 New York civil case said the Italian case may have been aimed at sabotaging her client before that trial began. "It was always obvious that Paul was completely innocent [in the Italian case] — and that this woman lied," attorney Priya Chaudhry said in a statement to The Times. "The timing of the lie, and the inevitability that it would be exposed, strongly suggest her false accusation was planned to sabotage Paul's other case on the eve of trial — deliberately engineered to inflict maximum damage and sway media and public opinion. "Everyone should now question the credibility of a verdict delivered in the shadow of a false criminal allegation — one strategically timed to generate global headlines, inflame public opinion, and irreparably taint the course of justice.' Haggis was found liable in the New York case and ordered to pay $10 million to Haleigh Breest, a former publicist who worked the red carpets at movie premieres in the early 2010s. Breest accepted a ride home from Haggis after a premiere in January 2013 and agreed to go to his apartment for a drink instead of her suggestion that they go to a bar. She accused him of making her perform oral sex and then raping her. Haggis maintains that the encounter was consensual. He was not criminally charged. Read more: Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for rapes Chaudhry also told The Times in a statement in 2022 that a fair trial for Haggis was 'impossible' once the judge admitted the statements of four additional women — three of whom didn't appear in court — who didn't go to the police with their complaints. 'I can't live with lies like this. I will die clearing my name,' Haggis said as he left court after the verdict, the Associated Press reported at the time. A civil suit filed by Haggis before Breest filed her claim alleged that she and her attorney had attempted to extort $9 million in 'hush money' over what the director said was a false rape claim. An appeals court judge threw out Haggis' case in July 2018, saying it had no specific allegation that Breest threatened to go public with her claim if she weren't paid. The director abandoned his appeal of the decision in March 2019. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paul Haggis: Italian Judge Drops Sexual Assault Charges Against Director
Paul Haggis will not face trial over an alleged sexual assault that occurred in Italy in 2022 after a judge dropped the charges against the writer-director. In June 2022, Haggis was detained in Brindisi, Italy, on charges of sexual assault after a 'young foreign woman' told investigators that she was 'forced to seek medical care' following 'non-consensual sexual relations' with a man Italian authorities identified as Haggis. More from Rolling Stone Paul Haggis Loses Civil Rape Case, Ordered to Pay Accuser $10 Million Leah Remini Tries to Boost Paul Haggis' Claim That He's a 'Victim' of Scientology in Rape Lawsuit Paul Haggis Calls Himself a 'Broken Person' in Civil Rape Trial Prosecutors said that the alleged victim was dropped off at a nearby airport on Sunday morning following an alleged encounter with Haggis that lasted two days. Airport police and staff said they found the woman in 'precarious physical and psychological conditions' and in a 'confused state.' The woman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was examined and later told authorities of the sexual assault and filed formal charges. Haggis was detained until July 2022, when he was released from house arrest pending the conclusion of the investigation. However, on Thursday, an Italian judge ruled that no sexual act occurred without consent and formally dropped the charges against Haggis, the BBC reports. 'For Mr. Haggis, it is the end of a nightmare that has unfairly shattered the career of a film genius and 2006 Oscar winner,' his lawyers, Michele Laforgia and Daniele Romeo, said in a statement. In late 2017 and early 2018, several women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Haggis, including publicist Haleigh Breest, who filed a civil lawsuit against the Million Dollar Baby screenwriter; that civil trial ended in November 2022 with Haggis ordered to pay $10 million in damages to Breest. Priya Chaudhry, Haggis' lawyer at that trial, said in a statement to Rolling Stone Thursday following the dismissal of the Italian charges, 'It was always obvious that Paul was completely innocent — and that this woman lied. The timing of the lie, and the inevitability that it would be exposed, strongly suggest her false accusation was planned to sabotage Paul's other case on the eve of trial — deliberately engineered to inflict maximum damage and sway media and public opinion. Everyone should now question the credibility of a verdict delivered in the shadow of a false criminal allegation — one strategically timed to generate global headlines, inflame public opinion, and irreparably taint the course of justice.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rape case against Oscar winner Haggis dropped
An Italian judge has dismissed sexual assault charges against Oscar-winning writer Paul Haggis, three years after he was arrested. Haggis is known for writing and directing the Oscar-winning 2004 film Crash, as well as co-writing James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. He was arrested in Brindisi in 2022 after being accused of rape by a British woman who had attended a film festival with him. "A false allegation is a terrible thing," he told reporters in the city on Thursday. "It was very hard on my family, and myself as well, I guess. I felt very bad for my family and now, really I feel grateful." He added: "I feel very grateful to the judiciary, the judge, and for my avvocato [lawyer] for his incredible strength and for his ability to see the truth and lay it out simply and understandably so that everyone can see." Haggis's lawyers told the Reuters news agency that a court judge had ruled no sexual act took place without consent. "For Mr Haggis, it is the end of a nightmare that has unfairly shattered the career of a film genius and 2006 Oscar winner," they said in a statement. The Canadian film-maker, 72, added that he had applied for residency in Italy and planned to live there permanently. In a separate case in 2022, Haggis was ordered to pay $10m in damages after being found liable in a civil trial for raping a woman. He denied the allegations and never faced any criminal charges in the case. Crash director arrested over alleged sexual assault Filmmaker Haggis ordered to pay $7.5m in rape suit
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Paul Haggis: Rape case against Oscar-winning writer dropped in Italy
An Italian judge has dismissed sexual assault charges against Oscar-winning writer Paul Haggis, three years after he was is known for writing and directing the Oscar-winning 2004 film Crash, as well as co-writing James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of was arrested in Brindisi in 2022 after being accused of rape by a British woman who had attended a film festival with him."A false allegation is a terrible thing," he told reporters in the city on Thursday. "It was very hard on my family, and myself as well, I guess. I felt very bad for my family and now, really I feel grateful." He added: "I feel very grateful to the judiciary, the judge, and for my avvocato [lawyer] for his incredible strength and for his ability to see the truth and lay it out simply and understandably so that everyone can see."Haggis's lawyers told the Reuters news agency that a court judge had ruled no sexual act took place without consent."For Mr Haggis, it is the end of a nightmare that has unfairly shattered the career of a film genius and 2006 Oscar winner," they said in a Canadian film-maker, 72, added that he had applied for residency in Italy and planned to live there a separate case in 2022, Haggis was ordered to pay $10m in damages after being found liable in a civil trial for raping a woman. He denied the allegations and never faced any criminal charges in the case.
