Movie
Tim Burton’s longtime associate has reportedly settled a lawsuit for $830,000, but after he failed to pay, his accuser is filing a lawsuit
Thu 20 Jul 2023 15:59 BST
Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman is being sued after he reportedly failed to pay $830,000 to an alleged sexual harassment victim.
According to Rolling Stone, in 2017 the 70-year-old – whose film scores include ‘Batman’, ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘Good Will Hunting’ – was accused by composer Nomi Abadi, 35, of exposing himself and without consent having her masturbate on two occasions.
The couple agreed to a settlement that consisted of payments spread over five years, but Elfman reportedly failed to make two of them totaling $85,000. Abadi is now suing him for breach of contract, the lawsuit also states that the payments went to an unspecified charitable foundation.
Elfman has called the relationship platonic and issued a statement calling Abadi’s allegations “vicious and utterly false,” blaming a longstanding crush on her. “I have done nothing indecent or wrong and my attorneys stand ready to provide extensive evidence to prove these allegations are false,” he said. “That’s the last thing I’m going to say on this subject.” A rep also told Variety that the allegations are “baseless.”
The Hollywood Crisis Missed #MeToo: “Every Female Composer Has Got Through It”
His rep alleges that after facing threats at the height of the #MeToo movement, Elfman was forced to make an “impossible choice: settle down and pursue his career and support his family, or to choose to fight what at the time posed a threat, an unwinnable battle to tell the truth.”
Abadi’s lawyer described his comments as “directly contradicting the position he took in the underlying dispute and the supporting evidence”.
Elfman is also accused of forcing her into a nude photo shoot. The Rolling Stone report states that he “regarded nudity as an important aspect of his creative process.”
The composer, who is married to actress Bridget Fonda, has been nominated for four Oscars and 14 Grammys. He is a longtime collaborator with director Tim Burton and has worked on film scores such as Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Corpse Bride. They recently collaborated on the hit Netflix show Wednesday.
Abadi founded the Female Composer Safety League, an organization dedicated to protecting female musicians in the industry. This year she spoke at a press conference alongside female survivors of sexual misconduct. “There is a clear and urgent need to spotlight the experiences of sexual assault survivors in the music industry who have lost their careers because they were abused and silenced,” she said.
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