Ashley Judd Says Weinstein Kept Her Out of `Lord of the Rings'

(Bloomberg) -- Actress Ashley Judd said Harvey Weinstein told the director of "Lord of the Rings" that she was a nightmare to work with as part of a smear campaign after she spurned his sexual demands.

Weinstein told "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, who wanted to cast her in the trilogy to which Weinstein’s Miramax studio owned the rights at the time, that the company had a bad experience working with her, the actress said in a lawsuit filed Monday in Santa Monica, California.

Judd alleges Weinstein sought to blacklist her because she had rejected his sexual advances when he cornered her in a hotel room. She’s suing him for defamation and sexual harassment, among other claims.

Weinstein was ousted from the company he founded in October over allegations by numerous women that he harassed or assaulted them. Since the claims became public numerous powerful men in entertainment, media and politics have been brought down by similar accusations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg

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