The actor has been accused by his former assistant of sexual battery while working for him in 2010. Photo: AP
Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel has been accused of sexual battery by a former assistant, who claimed she was promptly fired after the action star forced himself on her in 2010.
Asta Jonasson detailed her allegations against 56-year-old Diesel in a lawsuit filed Thursday (Dec 21) in Los Angeles.
She said she was hired by Diesel’s production company, One Race Films, to work on location in Atlanta, where Fast Five had been in production, according to court documents obtained by Vanity Fair.
A recent film school graduate at the time, Jonasson was tasked with things like organising and accompanying Diesel to parties.
After one such event in September 2010, Jonasson claimed she was asked to wait in the actor’s suite at the St. Regis hotel while he entertained hostesses he’d brought back from a club.
Once they were gone, Diesel “grabbed Ms. Jonasson’s wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed,” according to the suit.
Jonasson said she managed to wriggle free and then waited by the door for the actor to leave. But he approached her again, at which point he allegedly began groping her breasts and kissing her chest.
This continued despite her protests, though Jonasson acknowledged she “was afraid to more forcibly refuse her supervisor, knowing that getting him out of that room was both crucial to her personal safety and job security,” the suit reads.
“This hope died when Vin Diesel dropped to his knees, pushed Ms. Jonasson’s dress up toward her waist, and molested her body, running his hands over Ms. Jonasson’s upper legs, including her inner thighs.”
Jonasson again managed to escape, this time fleeing the room for a bathroom down the hall, where Diesel allegedly continued his attempts. According to the lawsuit, he pinned her against a wall and then masturbated while she repeatedly asked him to stop.
Hours later, Samantha Vincent – Diesel’s sister and the president of One Race – allegedly called Jonasson and fired her. She’d been on the job for just two weeks.
“It was clear to her that she was being fired because she was no longer useful – Vin Diesel had used her to fulfil his sexual desires and she had resisted his sexual assaults,” according to the suit.
It further noted her “esteem was demolished, and she questioned her own skills and whether a successful career would require her to trade her body for advancement.”
Jonasson, who was under a nondisclosure agreement at the time, said she was finally able to come forward thanks to the Speak Out Act. The legislation, which went into effect in December 2022, prevents the enforcement of an NDA in instances of sexual assault and harassment.
Representatives for Diesel did not respond to a request for comment. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
