Cuba Gooding Jr. charged with groping woman in Manhattan bar

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged on Thursday with groping a woman at a Manhattan bar last weekend, New York City police said.

The “Jerry Maguire” actor faces one misdemeanor account of forcible touching in an incident on Sunday when an unidentified woman said Gooding touched her breasts.

Gooding, who denies the accusation, emerged in handcuffs after being charged at a New York police facility. He did not speak to reporters.

He was the latest Hollywood figure to be swept up in a sexual misconduct scandal that has roiled the entertainment industry in the last two years.

Gooding’s attorney, Mark J. Heller, said he was “completely confident that (Gooding) will be totally exonerated.” He told reporters that Gooding will enter a not guilty plea at an initial court appearance.

“There is not a scintilla of criminal culpability that can be attributed to Cuba Gooding Jr.,” Heller told reporters.

Heller said he was “shocked and horrified” that the case was being prosecuted after he presented police with security video from the bar that the attorney said showed no criminal behavior by Gooding.

Gooding, 51, won a supporting actor Oscar in 1997 for “Jerry Maguire” and had roles in “A Few Good Men,” “The Butler” and the television miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

The actor, who is divorced, is one of dozens of men in politics, entertainment, sports and the business world who have been accused of sexual misconduct since allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein triggered the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein is to stand trial in New York later this year on charges of rape and forced oral sex involving two women. He has denied any non-consensual sex.

Former “House of Cards” actor Kevin Spacey in January pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man at a Massachusetts bar two years ago, while singer R. Kelly was charged in Chicago with sexually assaulting three teens and a woman.

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Heller accused the woman who lodged the complaint against Gooding last weekend of seeking “simply to get their 15 minutes of fame” and said he hoped she would herself be prosecuted once Gooding’s case is resolved.

New York media reported on Thursday that another woman had come forward this week alleging inappropriate touching by Gooding in 2008.

Heller said Gooding had “no knowledge” of the alleged 2008 incident, which falls outside the statute of limitations for any potential charges.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Leslie Adler, Susan Thomas and Richard Chang

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Cuba Gooding Jr. charged in Manhattan groping incident

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Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives at New York City Police Department's (NYPD) Special Victims Division (SVU) in the Harlem neighbourhood in New York, U.S., June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

(Reuters) - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged on Thursday with forcible touching after a woman accused him of groping her at a Manhattan bar last weekend, New York City police said.

The “Jerry Maguire” actor was charged after reporting to police on Thursday, the New York Police Department public affairs office said.

He faces one misdemeanor account of forcible touching in an incident that occurred on Sunday when an unidentified woman said Gooding touched her breasts at the bar.

Gooding’s attorney, Mark J. Heller, said he was “completely confident that (Gooding) will be totally exonerated.” He told reporters that Gooding will enter a not guilty plea at an initial court appearance.

“There is not a scintilla of criminal culpability that can be attributed to Cuba Gooding Jr.,” Heller said after the actor was charged.

Heller said he was “shocked and horrified” that the case was being prosecuted after he presented police with security video from the bar that the attorney said showed no criminal behavior by Gooding.

Gooding won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1997 for his portrayal of an athlete in the film “Jerry Maguire.” In 2016, he was nominated for an Emmy for playing O.J. Simpson in the miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

New York media reported on Thursday that another woman had come forward this week alleging inappropriate behavior by the actor in 2008.

Heller said Gooding had “no knowledge” of the alleged 2008 incident, which falls outside the statute of limitations for any potential charges.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Leslie Adler and Susan Thomas

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Cuba Gooding Jr. charged in Manhattan groping incident, police say

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Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives at New York City Police Department's (NYPD) Special Victims Division (SVU) in the Harlem neighbourhood in New York, U.S., June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

(Reuters) - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged on Thursday with forcible touching after a woman accused him of groping her at a Manhattan bar last weekend, New York City police said.

The “Jerry Maguire” actor was charged after reporting to police on Thursday, the New York Police Department public affairs office said.

He faces one misdemeanor account of forcible touching in an incident that occurred on Sunday.

Gooding has denied the accusation, which was made by an unidentified woman who said Gooding touched her breasts at the bar on Sunday night.

Gooding’s attorney said on Thursday, before the actor was charged, that security video from the bar showed no criminal conduct by Gooding.

Gooding won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1997 for his portrayal of an athlete in the film “Jerry Maguire.” In 2016, he was nominated for an Emmy for playing O.J. Simpson in the miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Leslie Adler and Susan Thomas

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Comedian Jon Stewart assails Congress for ignoring 9/11 first responders fund

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jon Stewart, the popular former host of the late-night comedy program The Daily Show, criticized members of Congress for not attending a hearing on Tuesday on renewing funding for a program that provides health care to first responders who were sickened responding to the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak and no one,” Stewart said, pointing to a mostly empty dais. “Shameful, it’s an embarrassment to the country and a stain on this institution. You should be ashamed of yourselves for those who aren’t here but you won’t be because accountability doesn’t appear to be something that occurs in this chamber.”

Stewart was testifying before the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties about a renewal of the 9/11 first responders health care fund. Most of the panel’s 14 members were not in attendance.

“Where are they? It would be one thing if their callous indifference and rank hypocrisy was benign, but it’s not,” Stewart said. “Their indifference cost these men and women their most valuable commodity, time, one thing they’re running out of.”

The fund, originally approved for five years in 2010, provides medical treatment for emergency responders sickened by toxic dust inhaled at the World Trade Center site in New York in the days following the attack.

Republicans had balked at the price of the original legislation and as a compromise at the time, Democrats agreed to authorize the fund only for five years and cover the cost with an excise tax. That has set up a fight every five years to get Congress to renew the program.

Stewart criticized Congress for continuing to require the fund be renewed every five years - pointing to the panel’s top Republican, Representative Mike Johnson, for saying that Congress has to balance other emergencies as well.

“I’m pretty sure what’s going to happen five years from now, more of these men and women are going to get sick and they are going to die and I am awfully tired of hearing that it’s a 9/11 New York issue,” Stewart said. “Al-Qaeda didn’t shout death to Tribeca.”

Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Dan Grebler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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