NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Lawyer: Gooding Jr. will turn self in on groping charge

NEW YORK

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. will turn himself in to New York City police today to face allegations he groped a woman at a Manhattan nightspot, his lawyer said.

Gooding, the Oscar-winning star of “Jerry Maguire” is expected to face a charge stemming from an alleged incident over the weekend at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge, lawyer Mark Heller said.

A 29-year-old woman told police Gooding grabbed her breast while he was intoxicated about 11:15 p.m. Sunday.

Gooding, 51, denies the allegations.

He told TMZ that he was at the bar partying with friends but didn’t touch anyone. He said there’s a video that shows “what really happened.”

“I trust the system and will let the process speak for itself,” Gooding said.

Gooding will surrender to the NYPD special victims unit that’s leading the investigation before going to court for an arraignment, Heller said. The lawyer expected Gooding to make a statement to the media before getting booked.

Sorvino says she is ‘survivor of date rape’

ALBANY, N.Y.

Mira Sorvino revealed Wednesday that she’s a survivor of date rape, saying she was talking about it publicly to lend her voice to a push for stronger sexual-assault laws in New York.

The Oscar-winning actress, who was one of the first women to accuse film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, choked up during a news conference at the state Capitol with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Talking publicly about Weinstein’s misconduct, she said, had been traumatic. But she said that she’d also had another, previously undisclosed bad experience with a man she didn’t identify.

“I am also a survivor of date rape,” she said, her eyes tearing.

Sorvino said she wouldn’t go into details but wanted to disclose the assault to help others.

“I am doing it here to try and help, because there are all these survivors out there right now who need justice, who need to feel that they can take the time they need to sort through the trauma, to sort through the shame,” she said. “Because I can tell you in situations of second-degree rape, which is what mine would constitute, you feel ashamed. You feel that somehow it was your fault.”

Associated Press