Paul Schrader Accused of Sexual Assault and Harassment by Former Assistant

Paul Schrader has been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault by a former assistant who also alleges that the screenwriter-director reneged on a settlement that was agreed upon by both parties.

In a legal filing for the Jane Doe accuser first obtained by Variety, the plaintiff claims Schrader sexually assaulted her in May 2024 when the defendant’s film Oh, Canada premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

“In May of 2024, at the film festival, Defendant Schrader demanded Ms. Doe go to his hotel room, trapped her inside, grabbed her arms, and thrust his face into hers to kiss her against her will, and then further restrained her in an effort to keep her in the room before she managed to free herself and flee the hotel room,” the legal filing states.

Three days later, Schrader summoned his assistant to his hotel room to pack his bags, claiming he was “dying.” When Doe arrived, Schrader allegedly “opened the door to his hotel room wearing nothing but an open bathrobe with his penis fully exposed. As Ms. Doe attempted to pack Mr. Schrader’s bags in terrified silence, he repeatedly commented, ‘I am so sweaty. I sweated through the bedsheets. Feel how wet they are.’ Ms. Doe packed his bags as quickly as she could, and left,” the filing says.

The assistant was employed by Schrader — the screenwriter on Taxi Driver and Raging Bull in addition to directing films like American Gigolo and First Reformed — from May 2021 to September 2024.

“After Ms. Doe refused to acquiesce to Defendant Schrader’s sexual advances, on September 23, 2024, he retaliated against her and terminated her employment,” the filing claims. “Two days later, in full acknowledgment of his unlawful and predatory behavior, he wrote in an email to her, ‘So I fucked up. Big time… . If I have become a Harvey Weinstein in your mind then of course you have no choice but to put me in the rear view mirror.’”

According to the filing, lawyers for Doe and Schrader worked out a settlement agreement “in exchange for a confidential amount to be paid over a period of seven months.” However, while Doe signed the agreement, after some “soul searching,” Schrader refused to, saying he “could not ‘live with himself’ if he performed his obligations under the Settlement Agreement.”

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“To date, Plaintiff has performed all her obligations under the Settlement Agreement and Settlement Document, namely by not pursuing, via civil action, her myriad legal claims against Defendants,” the filing — which seeks to reinstate the binding agreement — said.
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Schrader’s lawyer Philip Kessler told Variety that the legal filing was “loaded with inaccuracies.” “We regard this breach of contract claim as desperate, opportunistic and frivolous,” Kessler said, adding that since Schrader never signed the agreement, it cannot be enforced by the court. 

Kessler also cited since-deleted social media postings by Doe praising Schrader, and added that she frequently joined him for dinners and film festivals. “In none of those instances did the plaintiff indicate anything other than enthusiasm about appearing with Mr. Schrader,” Kessler added.