Authorities arrested Oscar-winning film director Paul Haggis on Sunday in connection with allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy, Italian media quoted local prosecutors as saying.
Canadian Haggis, 69, has been in Italy for a film festival that begins Tuesday in Ostuni, a tourist town in Puglia, the region that forms the “heel” of the Italian peninsula.
A statement from the Variety Film Festival said organizers had “learned with dismay and surprise that Paul Haggis had been arrested for alleged violence”.
The festival directors “immediately proceeded to withdraw any participation from the director of the event” and “at the same time, express full solidarity with the woman involved,” their statement added.
Haggis is a director, producer and screenwriter. He won an Oscar in 2006 for Best Original Screenplay for Crash. He later wrote screenplays for Million Dollar Baby, James Bond Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale, as well as directing In the Valley of Elah and The Next Three Days.
He was previously a prominent Scientologist and has written about his process of escaping the organization.
LaPresse news agency and several other Italian media outlets published a written statement from prosecutors in the nearby city of Brindisi investigating allegations of a “foreign woman” who was forced to have “non-consensual” sex for two days.
Prosecutors Antonio Negro and Livia Orlando, who are leading the investigation, said in a statement that the woman was “forced to seek medical attention” after sex. After a couple of days of “non-consensual intercourse, the woman was accompanied by the man” on Sunday at Brindisi airport and “stayed there in the morning despite the precarious physical and psychological conditions.”
The Brindisi prosecutor’s office was closed on Sunday. Haggis’ lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from news agencies.
Prosecutors said the airport staff and police noticed her “confused state” and, after providing initial treatment, took her to Brindisi police headquarters. Officers escorted her to a local hospital for an examination.
It was not immediately clear whether Haggis was detained at a police station, a hotel or other accommodation.
The Italian prosecutor’s office was also quoted as saying that the woman “formalized her complaint and cited circumstances that were later examined for confirmation by investigators.” They did not cite their nationality or age.
Paul Haggis was previously charged in the United States with sexual misconduct by four women, including two rape allegations, in 2018. In this case, which has not yet reached the courts, the director was the subject of a publicist lawsuit. who claimed he raped her. Three other women have filed charges.
Advertiser Haleigh Breest accused Haggis of “a shocking and flagrant case of rape and sexual assault” that occurred in 2013. Haggis filed a counterclaim alleging that the lawsuit was “extortion,” a $ 9 million attempt. dollars to get money from him. The three subsequent accusers have not revealed their identities.
Haggis’ lawyer has denied any allegations, saying “he did not rape anyone.”
In an interview with The Guardian about sexual harassment in Hollywood, Haggis referred to it as a “rather sexist” city.
“A lot of people are committed to Harvey’s alleged actions,” he said. “Even though everyone thinks it’s vile behavior, you have to focus on those who may have colluded and protected you.”