Cuba Gooding Jr. Assault Allegation

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Overview

Cuba Gooding Jr. Assault Allegation refers to an incident at a nightclub in New York City during which Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. allegedly grabbed a woman's leg and breast without consent. The actor has denied the allegations.

Background

On June 10th, 2019, the New York Post^[1] reported that Gooding, who was reportedly "highly intoxicated," had been accused of "groping" a woman at a Manhattan nightclub on June 9th. They wrote, "The NYPD is investigating a woman’s claim that actor Cuba Gooding Jr. inappropriately touched her at a Manhattan club Sunday night, police sources said. The 30-year-old woman told cops the actor grabbed her breast while they were socializing around 9 p.m. at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge on 7th Avenue in Midtown."

Developments

Gooding's Arrest

On June 13th, 2019, Gooding surrendered to New York City police. Ahead of the arrest, he had stated that he had hard evidence proving his innocence. He told the press, "I trust the system, and the process speaks for itself." He continud to say that "there’s a tape that shows what really happened -- that’s the most important thing."

"I was at the club, I left[…]I met a bunch of people, I said hello, I took pictures and … you know, you have to have faith in what people say[…]All I have to say is the following, in this time and age we need to let people speak for themselves, we have to let people express themselves. “And now I’m giving the process the chance to show what really happened, what went down."^[2]^[3]

That day, NBC News published video of his surrender. After being charged with forcibly touching the woman, he was escorted out of the police station in handcuffs.^[4] On YouTube, the video received more than 11,000 views in 24 hours (shown below).

Security Footage

On June 14th, footage from the nightclub's security camera was released. The footage, however, was marked by ambiguity. It appears to show Gooding reaching over girlfriend Claudine De Niro's to touch the accuser, but her response its unknown (shown below). Gooding's attorney claims that the footage would "exonerate" his client.

Online Reaction

Following the news, people online discussed the incident. ON June 10th, Twitter ^[6] user @schemaly tweeted, "This is about Cuba Gooding Jr and one woman but it’s common. In 2018 a ‘Smart Dress’ experiment tracked “inappropriate” touches in a nightclub: 3 women 3 hours 157 TIMES Men who say they’re worried bc women are saying #MeToo are actually scared bc they’re *thinking MeToo.*" The tweet received more than 250 likes and 100 retweets (shown below, left).

Additionally, Twitter^[7] user @SammiScarlette tweeted, "I believe the girl who accused Cuba Gooding Jr. of assault 100%. He was at my friends birthday party last year & made unprovoked lewd remarks to several girls (including to me) & stuck his hand up a girls romper when she asked for a photo (she was upset)." The tweet received more than 55 likes and 20 retweets in one week (shown below, right).

On June 13th, Redditor ^[5] FenrirIII posted about the surrender in the /r/Entertainment subreddit. The post received more than 1,400 points (96% upvoted) and 270 comments in 24 hours.