Cuba Gooding Jr.'s lawyers say witnesses heard alleged rape victim bragging about having sex with him that night

• Cuba Gooding Jr.'s attorneys say they have three witnesses who challenge his rape accuser's story.
• The three witnesses heard the accuser brag about having sex with Gooding, the actor's attorneys said.

Lawyers for Cuba Gooding Jr. alleged Monday that the actor's rape accuser "bragged" about having consensual sex with him on the same night that she claims he attacked her inside a New York City hotel room in 2013.

Gooding's attorney, Gary Becker, told US District Court Judge Paul A. Crotty during a status conference in Manhattan federal court that they plan on calling two witnesses at trial who allege that the accuser returned to the bar where she met Gooding earlier in the evening, and boasted about having consensual sex with him. Outside the courtroom, Becker's co-counsel, Ed Sapone, clarified that they actually have three witnesses from the bar — two bar owners and a bartender.

The woman, identified only as "Jane Doe" in court documents, sued Gooding in 2020 and accused the Oscar-winning actor of raping her in his room at Manhattan's Mercer hotel in 2013 after the two met at a bar in Greenwich Village. She claimed in the lawsuit that she repeatedly told Gooding "no" and that he raped her a second time as she was trying to leave his hotel room.

Casey Wolnowski, one of Doe's attorneys, told Insider after the conference Monday that he's "aware of these witnesses" but "vehemently denies their views on what transpired." Wolnowski added that he's "confident the jury is going to give" his client's testimony "the weight it deserves."

Attorneys for the two parties also discussed a trial date on Monday. On Tuesday, the judge ordered that the trial start June 5. Wolnowski had asked for a 2024 trial date due to scheduling conflicts for his co-counsel, Nathan Goldberg, a partner at Gloria Allred's law firm, but Crotty did not want to delay the trial that long.

"We're not putting the trial off for a year," Crotty said.

Gooding's attorneys also brought up several issues related to evidence that they're seeking for the trial at the hearing Monday, though the deadline for exchanging such information ended in October.

Gooding's attorneys said Doe refused to turn over several documents they requested, including a police report she said she filled out about the alleged assault shortly after hiring Allred's firm. Wolnowski said during the hearing that his client doesn't have paperwork relating to the police report and that Gooding's attorneys should have subpoenaed the police.

Crotty didn't rule on any of the evidence but seemed impatient with the issues being brought up after the discovery deadline had passed.

"The time for discovery is over. Let's get on with the trial," Crotty said Monday.

Gooding has denied Doe's rape allegations. After Monday's conference, Gooding's attorney Sapone said his client is "very confident" he'll win the case.

Gooding "has a lot of faith in the civil justice system and can't wait for his day in court," Sapone said.

This isn't the first time that Gooding has been accused of sexual misconduct. In 2019, Gooding was booked on suspicion of groping a woman at a Times Square bar. That case eventually grew to include similar complaints from two other women.

In August 2020, prosecutors said more than 30 women had come forward to accuse Gooding of unwanted sexual touching.

Last year, Gooding pleaded guilty to a harassment charge in a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to escape imprisonment.

One of the three accusers in the criminal case, Natasha Ashworth, also sued Gooding in New York Supreme Court. She won that case by default last year after Gooding refused to respond to the lawsuit for nearly two years. A judge ordered Gooding to pay Ashworth $80,000 in damages.

Update — February 28, 2023: This story has been updated to include the judge's ruling that the trial start on June 5.