Comment A New York jury has found filmmaker Paul Haggis liable in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a journalist who claimed he raped her in his Manhattan apartment in 2013, according to the Associated Press. The court ordered Haggis, 69, to pay Halley Brest, 36, at least $7.5 million in restitution, the AP reported, noting that the jury also decided he would be responsible for paying additional punitive damages later. Ilann Maazel, an attorney representing Breest, said in a statement: “We are thankful and grateful for the jury’s verdict. Justice was served today. This is a big win for Haleigh and the entire #MeToo movement.” Haggis’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry said they were “disappointed and shocked by this verdict”. He said they “were not allowed to tell the jury so many crucial things” and that Haggis could not have had a fair trial. Haggis is best known for writing the films “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash,” the latter of which won him two Oscars in 2006 for best picture and best original screenplay. He also directed “Crash” and shares a writing credit on the film with Bobby Moresco. Breest filed a lawsuit against Haggis in December 2017 under New York’s Gender-motivated Violence Victims Protection Act. According to the complaint, Breest was working at a movie premiere in New York in January 2013 and received a ride home from Haggis. The document alleges that he pressured her to have a drink with him at his SoHo apartment, rather than at a public bar, as she said. “Recognizing that Mr. Haggis was a powerful member of the Hollywood elite who could influence her career and faced with his persistence, Ms. Brest finally relented and moved in with Mr. Haggis at his residence on Mercer Street,” it says. an amended complaint filed in New York County Superior Court in July 2018; The complaint alleges that Breest was “shocked, confused and extremely fearful” as Haggis forcibly kissed her at his residence and forced her to perform oral sex. According to Breest, he then raped her. Both Haggis and Breest testified about the meeting. Haggis said she seemed “conflicted” at first, but then took the initiative and “never gave me any indication that it was anything other than consensual,” the AP reported. He said he had “no memory” of intercourse. Breest said she denied Haggis’ claim from that night that she had been flirting with him “for months” at industry events and repeatedly asked him to stop while she made unwanted advances at his apartment, according to the AP. He added that at one point, he asked her if she was afraid of him. The jury was shown text messages Breest sent to a friend the day after the meeting. He wrote, “And I keep saying no… But I guess it’s just an invitation or a challenge,” according to Deadline, which reported that Breest’s friend said they “would call it borderline rape.” Deadline reported that Breest’s lawyers also called four other women who accused Haggis of sexual harassment, one of whom claimed he raped her in the 1990s and the other three said he had made unwanted sexual advances toward them. Haggis admitted in court that he had “a lot of affairs” while married to actress Deborah Renard, who testified in her ex-husband’s defense and said he “had great relationships with women. I’ve never heard of anything negative,” Variety reported. They married in 1997 and divorced in 2016, years after the separation. Actress Leah Remini also testified as a character witness for Haggis, a former Scientologist. Variety said it appeared via video chat and described Haggis as “the victim here,” calling the lawsuit an attack on the director for leaving the church. Before Remini’s testimony, according to Variety, both sides agreed that Scientology was irrelevant to the case.
