Paul Schrader continued mounting his defense Monday against a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his former assistant last week, detailing in a written appeal to friends and family two instances where he kissed the young woman on the mouth.
He maintained that they “never had sex in any form” and that he never exposed himself to her in a Cannes hotel room, as she claimed in her Thursday filing.
“I have nothing to hide about my conduct — and that includes my decision not to yield to the pressure of my former assistant’s threat to make her sensational allegations public, a threat that she and her lawyers have now executed,” Schrader wrote in the letter, obtained and reviewed by TheWrap. “If this case ever makes it to trial, I will be honest with the judge and jury who I am confident will see the truth.”
The “Taxi Driver” screenwriter, 78, slammed the 26-year-old woman and her allegations as a “quick money grab” in an attempt to have him pay out a settlement she claims he reneged on in February. He said he never signed the settlement agreement when she first made her allegations last year, despite knowing that doing so would have kept the them confidential.
“I understood that the mere assertion of such accusations would be damaging and hurtful. As a result, I nearly committed to settling the claims by paying a small fraction of the amount that had been initially demanded to avoid the hurt and harm that the publicity surrounding a lawsuit with these kinds of false and misleading accusations would cause, to say nothing of the cost of litigation,” he explained. “Upon reflection, I changed my mind, which I believe I was legally entitled to do, and declined to sign the written settlement agreement the lawyers had prepared. I refused to bow to the coercion created by what I regard as unwarranted and opportunistic claims and resolved to defend myself.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Schrader detailed the two instances he and the assistant kissed on the mouth, both after nights of drinking. The first instance was in December 2023 in New York City. Schrader wrote that “she did not indicate to me that she had been troubled by the kiss” and continued working with him. The second instance was at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
“Once again, after we had been drinking together, I kissed her. This time she indicated displeasure. I never attempted to kiss her again and I also apologized,” Schrader wrote. “Even after Cannes, Plaintiff expressed emphatically her desire to continue to work, dine and travel with me. She also expressed her desire to work with me on my next film, which was scheduled for production last fall. Finally, she participated in an interview and voluntarily made personal social media posts in which she chose to praise me.”
Thursday’s lawsuit, Schrader said, is an attempt to “enforce against me the settlement agreement I declined to sign — even though the agreement says clearly that it would not be effective unless both Plaintiff and I signed it.” Terms of the agreement, which included monetary payment to the former assistant, were not disclosed in court documents or Schrader’s letter.
Of the lawsuit, the woman’s lawyer Gregory Chiarello wrote last week, “This is an open-and-shut settlement enforcement matter.” Schrader’s lawyer Philip J. Kessler echoed the filmmaker, arguing the claims against his client “desperate, opportunistic and frivolous.”
“We absolutely deny that there was ever a sexual relationship of any kind between Mr. Schrader and his former assistant, and we deny that Mr. Schrader ever made an attempt to have a sexual relationship of any kind with his former assistant,” Kessler said.
The lawsuit seeks a summary judgment ordering Schrader to pay the agreed upon settlement, as well as court costs and disbursements, additional damages, attorneys’ fees, and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.
Read Schrader’s friends and family letter in full below:
You may have read that my former assistant filed a lawsuit making some allegations about me. I am writing because you are important to me and I want you to hear from me directly about this subject.
Out of the blue, in the fall of last year, a lawyer I had never heard of, representing my former assistant, sent me a letter demanding that I pay my former assistant millions of dollars or she would go public with sensational, false and misleading accusations about our relationship and my conduct via a lawsuit. I understood that the mere assertion of such accusations would be damaging and hurtful. As a result, I nearly committed to settling the claims by paying a small fraction of the amount that had been initially demanded to avoid the hurt and harm that the publicity surrounding a lawsuit with these kinds of false and misleading accusations would cause, to say nothing of the cost of litigation. Upon reflection, I changed my mind, which I believe I was legally entitled to do, and declined to sign the written settlement agreement the lawyers had prepared. I refused to bow to the coercion created by what I regard as unwarranted and opportunistic claims and resolved to defend myself.
Plaintiff has now filed suit, apparently hoping against hope for a quick money grab. She hasn’t sued for sexual harassment; she has sued to enforce against me the settlement agreement I declined to sign—even though the agreement says clearly that it would not be effective unless both Plaintiff and I signed it.
Although her lawsuit is for breach of the settlement agreement draft, it gratuitously includes some of the sensational, false, and misleading accusations that were contained in her demand letter. I am not a mind reader, but I believe that the accusations were included as a tactic—to bully me into writing a check. If that is their plan, it will not succeed.
The lawsuit labors to create a false impression about my character and my interactions with her. It also rewrites history, in a desperate attempt to transform our relationship of more than three years, which consisted of Plaintiff’s diligent work and very willing non-sexual companionship, into something unwelcome, coercive and odious to her. Nothing could be further from the truth.
To be absolutely clear: I never had sex in any form with Plaintiff. Nor did I ever attempt such a thing—period. I never exposed myself to Plaintiff—at any time. Our most physically “intimate” experiences together consisted of two kisses on the lips, which occurred months apart. We also often kissed one another on the cheek in gestures of greeting and farewell.
The first kiss was in December 2023 in a New York bar after we had both been drinking. She continued working actively with me thereafter. She did not indicate to me that she had been troubled by the kiss, much less that she preferred to change or end our relationship. She even co-wrote a script with me after this kiss.
The second kiss took place in May 2024 at Cannes where she had accompanied me for the premiere of my most recent film. Once again, after we had been drinking together, I kissed her. This time she indicated displeasure. I never attempted to kiss her again and I also apologized. Even after Cannes, Plaintiff expressed emphatically her desire to continue to work, dine and travel with me. She also expressed her desire to work with me on my next film, which was scheduled for production last fall. Finally, she participated in an interview and voluntarily made personal social media posts in which she chose to praise me.
Plaintiff was my Production Assistant from June 2021 until September 2024. During our more than three years of work together, she eagerly accompanied me to numerous work and social events as my guest. These events included small, private dinners with prominent celebrities in the entertainment industry. We also dined together in restaurants, drank together in bars, visited museums, and attended concerts, plays and film festivals. She never expressed any reluctance to attend these events or to join me in these one-on-one activities. If she was unhappy to participate in these activities, she didn’t show or mention it. On the contrary, she repeatedly expressed to me enthusiasm about her participation. Her lawsuit tries to paint a very different picture—one that isn’t true.
It is more than a little revealing that, throughout her employment, Plaintiff chose on her own to make flattering social media remarks about me, emphasizing her belief in my talent and her delight in my mentorship. I think it is at least as revealing that a number of her social media posts have been deleted since she engaged counsel and asserted her claims. The deletions include her reference to me as “my man”.
In the summer of 2024, having completed my most recent film, I had no need for a full-time assistant. Plaintiff was living in Arizona then, caring for her ailing grandfather, who subsequently passed away. Rather than eliminating her position, I reduced her compensation by approximately 50% even though she was not doing much work for me. I hoped that she would return to full-time work in the not-too- distant future when my next contemplated film project would create a need for an assistant. I also emphasized to her that if she was ready to move on in her career, she should do so and would have my unqualified encouragement.
Within a few months of this reduction in pay, I heard for the first time about the grievances detailed in the demand letter, which have been partially published in the lawsuit papers.
I understand that in the current climate a defendant accused of sexual harassment is often presumed guilty in the court of public opinion without the fairness of due process– unless and until the defendant proves his or her innocence. But that presumption is not always true. It is not true in this case. I have nothing to hide about my conduct— and that includes my decision not to yield to the pressure of my former assistant’s threat to make her sensational allegations public, a threat that she and her lawyers have now executed. If this case ever makes it to trial, I will be honest with the judge and jury who I am confident will see the truth.
The post Paul Schrader Details Kissing Former Assistant in Letter Addressing Sexual Harassment Lawsuit: ‘I Have Nothing to Hide’ appeared first on TheWrap.