Cuba Gooding Jr. settles sex abuse lawsuit moments before trial was set to begin
New York, New York - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr settled his civil sex abuse case on Tuesday without a second to spare.
The Boyz n the Hood star was slated to go on trial at 10 AM in the suit accusing him of raping a woman he met at a Greenwich Village bar in 2013.
An entry on the court docket at 10:24 AM said the trial had been removed from the calendar as the parties had resolved the matter. Details of the settlement were not immediately available.
Gloria Allred, representing the woman who brought the suit anonymously, declined to comment.
Gooding's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Gooding, 55, denied the woman's rape allegations, contending the encounter was consensual and that his accuser was lying.
The woman alleged Gooding invited her back to his hotel for drinks and then asked her to join him in his room while he changed quickly. In the room, the woman claims Gooding stripped nude and refused to let her leave.
Cuba Gooding Jr. avoids trial over sexual abuse charges
The settlement means the woman who brought the suit won't have to publicly reveal her name, which the presiding judge ordered last week would be revealed in the trial. Judge Paul Crotty also said she could call three women to testify about assault allegations against Gooding.
Crotty found there were enough similarities between their accounts and the account of the accuser who filed the suit to warrant their testimony, noting "all involve sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults."
In October 2022, Gooding received no prison time after pleading guilty to charges of forcible touching, sparking a significant backlash against the actor.
Cover photo: REUTERS