If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.
NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is positive he’ll be working in Hollywood again after settling a case that alleged he raped a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago.
The Oscar-winning actor is returning to the spotlight with a new faith-based film, “The Firing Squad,” while addressing his legal issues and changing relationship with Hollywood.
During a Wednesday interview on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live,” Gooding expressed optimism about future work in Hollywood. “100%,” he said, when asked if he thought major studios would hire him again. “We talk to each other, we see each other … My job is in front of America. Good or bad.”
Addressing sexual assault allegations
Gooding addressed his legal troubles, including a guilty plea to a forcible touching misdemeanor in 2022 and subsequent civil lawsuits. When asked if he understood why some might be hesitant to cast him, Gooding responded, “Sure.
“I can also understand some people that come up to me on the street all the time yell, ‘Show me the money’ and ‘Hang in there’ and ‘I see what you’re going through.’ You know you make movies for an audience of people, right?”
The now-settled lawsuit was filed against a man who authorities say has been accused of committing sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, unwanted kissing and other inappropriate behavior.
“Everything that happens in my life is for a reason. I believe that,” Gooding said. “And if I continue to walk on my path, wherever that is, I know that the end result is to make me stronger, to be a better person, to be a better father. Right now, that’s the moment I am in.”
The actor maintained from the beginning that his encounter with the woman was consensual after the two met at a nearby restaurant. She said in her lawsuit that Gooding raped her in his room. His lawyers, though, insisted that it was consensual sex and that she bragged afterward to others that she had sex with a celebrity.
Gooding framed his current career phase in terms of personal redemption.
“I pray every day that ‘thy will be done’ in my life,” he said. “Right now, this is the time that I think my career makes the statement about what gets me through the darkest times.”
Gooding, a star in films including “Boyz n the Hood” and “Radio,” was permitted to plead guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanor, admitting that he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018.
By staying out of trouble and completing six months of alcohol and behavioral counseling, Gooding was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea and plead guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation, eliminating his criminal record and preventing further penalties.
In addition to those cases, a music producer who first sued music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs for sexual assault in February, added Gooding to that complaint saying he groped him while on Combs’ yacht in 2023.
New faith-based film
The Oscar-winning actor is now promoting “The Firing Squad,” a faith-based film about redemption. Set for release Friday, the movie tells the story of Americans facing execution in Indonesia who find faith while in prison.
“I wept when I read the end act,” Gooding said. “I realized that we’re all dealing with something … But there’s hope.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.