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Cuba Gooding Jr. settles with woman who accused him of rape

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. has settled a civil lawsuit from a woman who accused him of raping her a decade ago in New York City.

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Court records show the jury trial had been set to start Tuesday. In a docket entry, court officials said, “The parties have resolved the matter.”

The woman who filed suit against Gooding, who was not initially named in court records, claimed that she met the “Boyz N the Hood” and “Jerry Maguire” actor at New York City restaurant and lounge in 2013. He invited her to join him for drinks at a hotel. After they arrived at the hotel, he told her that he needed to change his clothes quickly first, court records show.

She said he convinced her to go to his hotel room, where he began to undress and blocked her attempts to leave. She said he pushed her onto the bed and raped her.

Gooding’s attorneys argued that their client and the woman had consensual sex and that she later bragged about it to others, The Associated Press reported. An attorney said the allegations were “completely false and defamatory,” according to The New York Times.

Last year, Gooding pleaded guilty to a harassment violation after authorities said he groped and forcibly kissed three women at Manhattan nightclubs in 2018 and 2019. He was sentenced to time served. Dozens of other women have also accused Gooding of sexual abuse, including three who planned to testify in the civil suit settled Tuesday, the Times reported.

Allegations against Gooding surfaced during the #MeToo movement, in which several prominent figures in Hollywood — including producer Harvey Weinstein and “That ‘70s Show” star Danny Masterson — were accused of sexual misconduct.