Cuba Gooding Jr. settles with accuser, avoids trial in New York sexual assault case

Cuba Gooding Jr. reached a last-minute settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her a decade ago, avoiding a trial.

Jury selection was set to begin Tuesday morning in a New York federal civil court. The Oscar-winning actor faced a lawsuit, which was filed in 2020, that alleged that Gooding had raped the woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. It had been the most serious of allegations brought against Gooding in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which sought accountability from high-profile figures in Hollywood and other industries in cases of sexual assault and harassment. The civil lawsuit against Gooding had sought $6 million.

However, the court announced Tuesday morning that the trial was off and removed it from the calendar, according to court records reviewed by The Times. “Reason for cancellation,” the court calendar read, “the parties have resolved the matter.”

Gloria Allred, who is representing the woman identified only as Jane Doe in court to protect her privacy, told The Times that she and their legal team were not willing to comment on the case Tuesday morning.

Gary Becker, one of Gooding’s attorneys, also declined to comment. But the “Jerry Maguire” actor has maintained his innocence through attorneys, insisting throughout that the encounter was consensual.

If the trial had continued, a jury likely would have heard testimony from three other women who previously alleged that Gooding, 55, had groped them without consent in separate instances in 2009, 2012 and 2019. Judge Paul A. Crotty, who was presiding over the case, had granted their testimony late last week because of the similarities between the alleged incidents, which involved sexual assault, alcohol and bars, restaurants, clubs or festivals, according to court documents.

Crotty had also recently ruled that the woman suing Gooding was required to reveal her name during trial.

The Jane Doe had met Gooding at a Greenwich Village VIP lounge in August 2013, according to the complaint. Gooding had invited her to join him and other friends for drinks at the Mercer hotel in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The pair caught a cab together to the hotel, where Gooding invited the woman up to his room to change clothes. After convincing her to join him, the lawsuit alleged that Gooding had raped her twice, pinning her to a bed, as she attempted to leave the room.

The “Radio” actor has been a defendant in several other sexual assault cases, during which prosecutors have painted Gooding as a serial offender.

In 2019, Gooding was arrested after a woman told police that he inappropriately touched her without her consent at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square. The same woman was among the three who would have been allowed to testify at the lawsuit trial.

After Gooding pleaded guilty last year to one count of forcible touching, a misdemeanor, the actor completed six months of alcohol and behavior-modification counseling. As a result, he was permitted to withdraw his misdemeanor plea and plead guilty to a lesser, noncriminal harassment violation.

By then, authorities said more than 30 other women had come forward with separate allegations against Gooding, including groping, unwanted kissing and other inappropriate behavior, which allegedly took place between 2001 and 2018.

Gooding was among a growing list of Hollywood celebrities who have faced numerous allegations of sexual assault since the #MeToo movement. The Bronx, N.Y., native won an Academy Award for supporting actor in 1997 for his performance in “Jerry Maguire.” He was also known for starring in John Singleton’s “Boyz N the Hood” and, more recently, the TV series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” in which he starred as Simpson. He was nominated for an Emmy for his performance as the controversial former professional football player.

Staff writers Nardine Saad and Alexandra Del Rosario and the Associated Press contributed to this report.