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Olympian Ariana Kukors Smith Sues USA Swimming, Alleges Sexual Abuse Cover-Up

Former Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors Smith filed a civil lawsuit Monday in California against USA Swimming, the governing body of the sport, alleging that they covered up abuse she suffered at the hands of coach Sean Hutchison, the Associated Press reports.

Kukors Smith, who competed in the 2012 Olympics, first went public in February, alleging that Hutchison began abusing her when she was just 16 years old. According to CNN, she told Department of Homeland Security investigators that the abuse began in 2005 and that her former coach took thousands of sexually explicit photographs of her when she was a minor.

“I never thought I would share my story because I was able to leave a horrible monster and build a life I could have never imagined for myself,” she said in a statement at the time. “But in time, I’ve realized that stories like my own are too important to go unwritten.”

Hutchison has denied the allegations and said that the two later had a consensual relationship. In February, he released a statement through his attorney that stated, “I absolutely deny having any sexual or romantic relationship with her before she was old enough to legally make those decisions for herself. Prior to that time, I did nothing to ‘groom’ her.”

According to the AP, USA Swimming previously hired a private investigator to look into rumors of a relationship between the two in 2010, when Kukors Smith was 21. It closed the investigation without finding any misconduct.

In the new lawsuit, USA Swimming officials are accused of knowing about allegations of Hutchison having inappropriate relationships with underage swimmers, including Kukors Smith, who was 16 in 2005. It also alleges that they manipulated a background screening system to shield coaches accused of abuse. Also included in the lawsuit is former Olympic coach Mark Schubert in a mention that he failed to report “a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or endangerment.”

“Those at USA Swimming need to change the culture of protecting predator coaches over young and vulnerable athletes such as myself,” Kukors Smith said.

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Ashley Judd Sues Harvey Weinstein for Allegedly Damaging Her Career

Yesterday, actress Ashley Judd filed a lawsuit against former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein alleging that her career was damaged by lies he spread against her in the Hollywood community after she rejected his sexual advances. Judd was one of the first women to come forward with her story about the producer. In October, she told the New York Times she remembered thinking of an encounter with Weinstein, “How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?”

The Times notes that it is rare for people to recover damages in suits such as this, as they can be hard to prove. But Judd appears to have a corroborating witness on her side, Lord of the Rings‘ director Peter Jackson. Judd claims that she was being for a prominent role in the film franchise when suddenly, the talks came to an abrupt halt. She told ABC News that she went from being invited to consider two roles to “poof,” nothing. “We never heard anything back and I remember calling my agent multiple times,” Judd said.

Her lawsuit alleges that Weinstein “torpedoed Ms. Judd’s incredible professional opportunity” by falsely telling Mr. Jackson that Ms. Judd was a “nightmare” who should be avoided “at all costs.” Jackson appears to back this up in a December interview with Stuff. “I recall Miramax telling us they [Judd and Mira Sorvino] were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” Jackson said. “At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us – but in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing. I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women – and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list.”

According to the Times, Judd is suing Weinstein for defamation and sexual harassment and for violating California’s broadly written Unfair Competition law, which prohibits “unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business acts and practices.” Her lawyer, Theodore Boutrou Jr says, “Ashley is fighting back, but she also wants to point the way for others” and that “if this isn’t an example of unfair business practice then I don’t know what is.” Judd says that any money won in the suit will be donated to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.

Weinstein issued a statement denying Judd’s claims: “The most basic investigation of the facts will reveal that Mr. Weinstein neither defamed Ms. Judd nor ever interfered with Ms. Judd’s career, and instead not only championed her work but also repeatedly approved her casting for two of his movies over the next decade. The actual facts will show that Mr. Weinstein was widely known for having fought for Ms. Judd as his first choice for the lead role in Good Will Hunting and, in fact, arranged for Ms. Judd to fly to New York to be considered for the role. Thereafter, Ms. Judd was hired for not one, but two of Mr. Weinstein’s movies, ‘Frida’ in 2002 and ‘Crossing Over’ with Harrison Ford in 2009. We look forward to a vigorous defense of these claims.”

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