Casey Affleck‘s female producers are defending him in his battle with two women who claim they were sexually harassed while working on a documentary with him.
Cinematographer Magdalena Gorka is suing Affleck for $2.5 million, accusing the actor (and brother of Ben Affleck) of getting into bed with her and fondling her while she slept in an apartment in New York.
Producer Amanda White, suing for $2 million, claims she encountered “uninvited and unwelcome sexual advances” while filming “I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix.” She alleges she had to endure “an impromptu shoot in a Las Vegas hotel room filled with hookers and transvestites.”
But associate producer Nicole Acacio told us, “I got to know both Amanda and Magdalena to some degree. I never saw anything out of the ordinary either on or off set, and certainly nothing like what they described in their suits.
“I was in Las Vegas at that shoot, and I never saw anything like that happen. Casey’s wife and his children were in town with him. Casey is a great guy, and it’s clear that he’s a very warm, family-centric person.
“The real Casey isn’t the one who was described in these suits. Nothing I’ve ever witnessed would lead me to think he could ever do anything like that.”
A female editor on the movie, who asked not to be named, added, “These lawsuits are contrary to everything that I personally know about Casey.”
Affleck’s lawyer, Marty Singer, plans to sue both women today, claiming they breached confidentiality and employment agreements. He told us, “Their lawyer sent the media both lawsuits before he filed them with the court in order to get publicity. Both claims are total fiction.”
The lawyer for Gorka and White, Brian Procel, said, “This is clearly an intimidation tactic by Casey Affleck’s team. They want to keep the truth from the public. We do not consider this as a serious challenge and we will fight it.”