Filmmaker Paul Haggis loses civil rape trial, ordered to pay USD 7.5 million compensation

A jury has ordered Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis to pay $7.5 million to a woman who accused him of rape. The filmmaker has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a former film publicist following a movie premiere in the early 2010s. Jurors also plan to award additional punitive damages.

The publicist had sued Haggis in 2017 claiming that he forced her into having oral sex with him before raping her at his Soho apartment.
Following the verdict, she said that she was ‘very grateful’ that she had the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in court — and that the jury chose to follow the facts — and believed her.

The film publicist was working as a freelancer at the event which Paul Haggis had attended as a guest. He never denied the encounter but maintained that it was consensual.

The complainant had stated that Haggis denied her suggestion to go to a public bar so she reluctantly agreed to have a drink at his apartment, where the alleged sexual assault took place.

However, Haggis in his testimony, claimed that she was giving off ‘mixed signals’ and he had ‘no memory’ of engaging in sexual intercourse with her that night. As per Variety’s report, his attorney also claimed during the closing arguments that the publicist was seeking revenge and was after the money. ‘This trial is not about justice for her. This is a blatant cash grab,’ she said.

Last month, a former freelance television producer claimed that Paul Haggis assaulted and attempted to rape her at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

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