Music
The musician’s spokesperson says the allegations are “baseless and absurd” and that Elfman will “vigorously defend these allegations in court.”
Fri Oct 20, 2023 04.26 BST
A second woman has filed a lawsuit against award-winning composer Danny Elfman, accusing him of exploiting his power in the industry to strip naked in front of her on numerous occasions and masturbate while she slept next to him.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, comes three months after it was revealed that Elfman had previously been accused of similar conduct in another lawsuit and had agreed to pay compensation as part of a legal settlement of $830,000 to be paid.
In this case, Elfman strongly denied the allegations made by a young composer named Nomi Abadi, who also claimed that Elfman was behind on his settlement payments.
The Guardian has contacted Elfman for comment. Earlier on Thursday, a spokesman for the composer told the Hollywood Reporter: “The allegations of misconduct made against Mr. Elfman are baseless and absurd. His legal team is exploring all options and he will vigorously defend these claims in court.”
The new plaintiff, identified in court documents as Jane Doe XX, was a 21-year-old New York Film Academy student with an interest in music when she met 47-year-old Elfman in 1997. According to the lawsuit, Elfman used his status in the industry to “train” her to accept behavior that made her extremely uncomfortable.
First, she claimed, he routinely removed all of his clothing in her presence and asked her to strip naked as well—a request to which she agreed because she viewed him as a valuable mentor and “always felt the imbalance between power and pressure to act.” “certain way… [as] a condition for their further relationship”.
Over time, according to the lawsuit, he developed a habit of sleeping in the same bed as her and eventually told her that he would masturbate while she slept – a revelation that led to the end of their friendship. “His disclosure that he was masturbating over her occurred without her consent or knowledge,” the lawsuit says.
Elfman, now 70, rose to fame with eerie, playful scores for films such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “Batman.” He has been nominated for four Oscars and 14 Grammys and is a long-time collaborator of director Tim Burton.
The composer is scheduled to be honored at a concert celebrating the 30th anniversary of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” which will take place three nights before Halloween at the Hollywood Bowl, one of Los Angeles’ premier live music venues.
According to a 2017 police report unearthed by Rolling Stone magazine, Abadi made similar allegations against Elfman, including allegations that he stripped naked and masturbated in front of her. Her 2018 lawsuit remained hidden from public view for five years due to a confidentiality clause in her settlement, but the allegations therein came to light when she sued him this summer for breach of contract, claiming he missed two scheduled settlement payments totaling $85,000.
The new lawsuit against Elfman was filed under a so-called “window law,” which allows people who believe they are victims of sex crimes to override the usual statute of limitations and file legal complaints within a limited time. The California Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act went into effect earlier this year and will remain in effect until January 1, 2026.