A woman who filed a sexual assault lawsuit against former Saturday Night Live star Horatio Sanz has accused Jimmy Fallon of enabling the alleged abuse.
The woman, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, has alleged Sanz sexually assaulted her at an SNL after-party in 2002, when she was 17. She's now seeking to add Fallon as a defendant for allegedly enabling Sanz's misconduct, Variety reports.
In her complaint, Jane describes regularly attending SNL after-parties and being served alcohol, even though it was common knowledge that she was underage. She alleges she was groomed by Sanz online beginning when she was 16 after launching an SNL fan website. At age 17, Jane claims she was invited to an after-party in May 2002 where sex workers, allegedly hired by Tracy Morgan "and/or NBC," were present. "At one point, when Sanz had his arm around Jane, Fallon hugged the two of them together, saying, "aww, you guys,'" the complaint says.
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Later that night, Jane alleges Sanz sexually assaulted her "in full view of party onlookers." Most of the SNL cast was present for the party, she claims, and she alleges Fallon "was as aware of Sanz's online grooming efforts as he was of his in-person conduct." Jane also describes drinking alcohol with Fallon, who she says remarked that she had a "few years before you graduate" high school.
Jane is also seeking to add Morgan and SNL creator Lorne Michaels as defendants to the lawsuit, claiming all three men "enabled Sanz's crimes." It was "well-known among the SNL crowd," including Michaels, "that teenage girls were regularly invited to" the after-parties and served alcohol, she claims.
Sanz has denied the allegations, and his attorney has claimed that "before filing this lawsuit anonymously," the accuser "demanded $7.5 million in exchange for her silence."
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