Cuba Gooding, Jr. Settles Rape Case Right Before Trial Was Set to Begin

Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. will not see his day in court. Minutes before his trial on rape allegations was set to begin, the parties settled.

The actor was accused of raping a woman in a New York hotel a decade ago. Gooding has denied those claims, saying the two had met at a nearby bar and it was consensual.

The woman claimed in her lawsuit that Gooding raped her in his hotel room after convincing her to stop at the room so he could change clothing, CBS News reported.

Gooding’s defense team said otherwise, arguing that it was consensual sex and that the alleged victim had boasted about having sex with a celebrity afterward.

She sought $6 million in damages. The details of the settlement have not been disclosed.

The trial was to start with jury selection in New York federal court, but after jurors were to begin assembling in a courtroom, a calendar entry in the official court record said: “TRIAL OFF.” It added: “Reason for cancellation (on consent): the parties have resolved the matter.”

Gooding has been accused of committing sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, unwanted kissing, and other inappropriate behavior.

Late last week, Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled in favor of the plaintiff by ruling that he would let three women testify that they also were sexually assaulted or Gooding had attempted to sexually assault them in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.

One of the women who had planned to testify at the trial was Kelsey Harbert, she alleged that the  Gooding had fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square in 2019.

Harbert said last year after Gooding pleaded guilty in New York state court to a charge that spared him from jail or a criminal history that never getting her day in court was “more disappointing than words can say.”