Two former employees sue Paramount and ex-exec for sexual assault, harassment

The first Jane Doe alleges that Smith sent her “numerous abhorring text messages, suggesting sexual acts and riddled with sexual innuendos.” She describes his “relentless behavior” as “verbally caustic, emotionally abusive, sexually predatory, aggressive, and highly vindictive.” The suit claims that Smith would comment on her physical appearance and “send her sexually aggressive and suggestive text messages.”

The second Jane Doe claims that Smith sexually assaulted her in 2016. In September 2016, Doe says that she entered Smith’s office, and he closed the door behind her. Without her consent, he caressed her shoulders and reached down the front of her dress and touched her breasts. According to the suit, in November 2016, Smith offered to drive Doe to her car. “But instead of simply dropping her off, Defendant Smith locked the doors, grabbed her without warning, and aggressively forced his mouth on hers. Before Plaintiff could react, Defendant Smith shoved his hand between her legs and digitally penetrated her vagina, without consent and without regard for her fear, dignity, or safety.” In another instance, in January 2017, he pushed Doe into a storage room, locked the door, and “aggressively kissed her and shockingly proceeded to digitally penetrate her without her consent.” Doe accuses Smith of “exploiting the imbalance of power between them and her vulnerable position as his subordinate,” subjecting her to “unsolicited sexual contact.”

“As part of a sustained pattern of psychological torment, Defendant Smith subjected Plaintiff to repeated verbal abuse throughout the workday. Multiple times a day, he would summon her into his office, only to berate and humiliate her over trivial mistakes or arbitrary preferences that Plaintiff could not have reasonably anticipated.” She also claims he “forcefully anally penetrate[d]” her “against her will.”

In both cases, the plaintiffs accuse Paramount Global of allowing them to experience “extreme” abuse and harassment under threat of retaliation if they resisted. Doe claims that Paramount Global and Paramount Pictures failed to take any steps to prevent harassment.