Vin Diesel
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Vin Diesel has been accused of sexual harassment by his former assistant, who claims he assaulted her at a Georgia hotel in 2010 while filming “Fast Five.”
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Asta Jonasson claims the “Fast & Furious” star pinned her to a wall where he groped her and masturbated in front of her. The lawsuit names Diesel's One Race Films, which allegedly fired Jonasson in retaliation for resisting his advances and to “cover up” the attack.
Representatives for Diesel did not respond to requests for comment.
Jonasson, who signed a nondisclosure agreement that prevents her from discussing anything diesel-related, attributes the filing of her lawsuit to laws that prohibit the enforcement of such contracts in certain cases and to a California law that limits the statute of limitations for sexual misconduct claims revived through 2026 Last year, plaintiffs used a similar law in New York, the Adult Survivor's Act, to sue major figures in the entertainment industry, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jamie Foxx and Neil Portnow. Several lawsuits also named companies owned by the defendants that were accused of abetting the attacks or negligently failing to supervise their directors and employees.
The lawsuit alleges a violent encounter with Diesel in September 2010 at the St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta.
Jonasson, whose duties included organizing and accompanying Diesel to parties to ensure no photos were taken of him, said she was asked to wait in the actor's suite while he entertained other guests. As they left, the lawsuit says he “grabbed Ms. Jonasson's wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed.” She says she “immediately tried to escape his grasp” and then left the bedroom.
According to the complaint, Jonasson was chased by Diesel, who “fell to his knees, pushed Ms. Jonasson's dress up to her waist and molested her body” after restraining her.
The lawsuit continues: “Vin Diesel attempted to pull down Ms. Jonasson’s underwear. At that moment, Ms. Jonasson screamed and ran in a panic down the hallway toward the bathroom, knocking Vin Diesel to the floor.”
After he stood up, the lawsuit says, the actor “pushed her against the wall with the left side of her body and again began groping Ms. Jonasson's body, including her breasts.” Diesel then “pulled his penis out of his underwear.” and began masturbating, the complaint states.
“MS. Jonasson heard Vin Diesel making moaning noises, then Vin Diesel quickly let go of her, went into the bathroom and turned on the sink with the bathroom door open,” the complaint states.
Hours later, Samantha Vincent — president of One Race and Diesel's sister — fired her, according to the complaint. She allegedly told her in a call that the company “didn’t need any additional help,” even though the job had only been open for less than two weeks.
“The message was clear. “Ms Jonasson was fired because she courageously resisted Vin Diesel’s sexual assault. Vin Diesel would be protected and his sexual assault would be covered up,” the lawsuit says, saying she “has previously received praise for her work.”
According to the complaint, another one-race supervisor proposed to her days before the alleged assault. She was allegedly called to his room where he took off his shirt, got into bed and said “come here” and she left.
Jonasson's claims include sexual harassment, gender discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation. She is seeking unspecified damages for “humiliation, emotional distress and mental and physical pain.” Vanity Fair first reported the lawsuit.
“Emboldened by the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, and with the protections of the Speak Out Act and the recent revival of her claims through AB2777, Ms. Jonasson is no longer willing to remain silent and seeks to reclaim her agency and justice for the suffering of her.” had to withstand the attacks of Vin Diesel and One Race,” the lawsuit states.
Diesel doesn't have any projects in production, but he and One Race are attached to produce an untitled Fast and Furious film starring Dwayne Johnson. This film doesn't have a director or release date yet, but it's expected to be the next Fast film to hit theaters, following Fast XI, which stars Diesel, and is a swansong his figure will be. He's also involved in a number of other projects, although it's unclear which one will make it out of the development phase. These include a new Riddick feature film and a Mattel Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots film from Universal.
Diesel starred as Groot in this year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and reprized his role as Dominic Toretto for Fast X.