HFPA Member Sam Asi Sues Group for Sexual Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation

thewrap.com:

In court documents obtained by TheWrap, Asi claims that HFPA violated its own rules and bylaws by placing him on probation without investigating the claims against him or notifying him beforehand after three women told TheWrap this past February that Asi had committed sexual misconduct against them.Among the accusers who spoke to TheWrap include Tianyue Li, a former assistant of Asi’s, who claimed that Asi played pornography in front of her and kissed her without her consent.

Wenting “Ting Ting” Xu, an HFPA member who resigned last year in protest, claimed that Asi had spread a rumor that she had performed oral sex on him to gain admission. “The most logical explanation is that the HFPA, under fire in the Los Angeles Times and other media for failing so miserably to keep its house in order, is using the false claims against Dr.

Asi as an opportunity to make it appear as if it takes allegations seriously and is changing its culture,” the lawsuit reads.Asi, a member of the HFPA since 2010, has denied the claims and says in the lawsuit that the HFPA has unreasonably delayed their internal investigation despite his cooperation.

In the meantime, he says that the probation has damaged his career as BBC has also placed him on probation, forcing him to pay for his own credentials to the Cannes Film Festival.