Paul Schraderbecame known for being behind some of the greatest movies of all time, including Robert De Niro’sTaxi Driver, but like so many others, his legacy is now set to be remembered for something other than his impressive body of work. According toThe Independent, a 26-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against Schrader, alleging that the filmmaker “exposed himself” to her, and subjected her to a “sexually hostile, intimidating, and humiliating environment” when she worked with him between 2021 and 2024.
The woman, known only as Jane Doe in documents, accused Schrader of “luring her into a hotel room” and “forcibly grabbing her and kissing her, despite verbal protests.” The incident was reported to have taken place when Schrader was showing the premiere of his movieOh, Canadaat the Cannes Film Festival.
In the lawsuit, the accuser says that after that incident, she returned to Schrader’s hotel room three days later, after receiving “numerous calls and angry text messages” in which he claimed to be unable to pack his bags by himself as he claimed he was dying. Allegedly, Schrader opened the door “with his penis fully exposed,” wearing only an open bathrobe. He was then said to have repeatedly asked her to “feel how wet” his bed sheets were, leaving her packing his belongings in “terrified silence.”
According to Doe’s legal team, Schrader knew that his actions were “unwelcome and offensive" and he said so in reported emails he sent to her after the incidents. She claimed to be fired by Schrader in September 2024 as an act of retaliation for refusing his “sexual and romantic advances.”
Taxi Driver Writer Slams Modern Moviegoers, Says Audiences Were Better in the 70s
First Reformed director Paul Schrader has an interesting theory about the current state of the entertainment business.
According to Doe, a private settlement was reached between her legal team and that of Schrader, but despite agreeing an undisclosed settlement, she said that Schrader delayed signing the agreement, and eventually told her that he had done some “soul-searching” and he could not “live with himself” if he paid out. The lawsuit is looking to enforce the settlement agreement originally made between the paid. Menaka Fernando, Doe’s attorney, said in a statement, “We have no further comment at this time and ask that the media respect Ms. Doe’s privacy.”
Schrader Denies the Allegations
As you would expect, Schrader’s legal team have spoken out on the filmmaker’s behalf, sharing a statement categorically denying the allegations against him as painting him in a “false light”, and claiming his accuser has launched an “opportunistic and frivolous” case against him. Lawyer Philip Kessler said toThe Independent:
“The underlying intentions of the plaintiff here contain many very material inaccuracies, and are obviously designed to paint Mr. Schrader in a very false light, in an effort to intimidate and coerce him into settling, and just to be very clear, Mr. Schrader never had sex in any form with the plaintiff, nor did he ever attempt such a thing. We will vigorously defend this.”
The Hollywood Reporteradded a further statement from Kessler, where he said the claims against his client were, “in many respects inaccurate, in other respects materially misleading and exaggerated, [and the] circumstances here will be shown to have been blown very wildly out of proportion to reality.”
