Almost three years after he was hit with charges of forcible touching, Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded guilty.
The Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire actor entered his guilty plea on Wednesday after he was accused of groping multiple women, The Associated Press reports. The guilty plea stems from an allegation that he forcibly touched a woman at a nightclub in 2018.
"I apologize for ever making anybody feel inappropriately touched," Gooding Jr. said, The New York Times reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Gooding also told the judge he "kissed the waitress on her lips" without consent at the nightclub, per the AP. He will avoid jail time as part of his plea deal and must continue undergoing alcohol and behavior counseling, according to Variety. He previously pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer said in 2019 he "did absolutely nothing wrong" and that "I am completely confident that he will be totally exonerated."
After he was arrested in 2019 for allegedly grabbing a woman's breast without consent at New York's Magic Hour Rooftop Bar, Gooding Jr. was also accused of groping two other women at nightclubs in separate incidents a year prior. One woman alleged the actor pinched her buttocks, and another said he forcibly touched her. By 2020, prosecutors said 30 women had come forward with claims that the actor inappropriately touched them.
Separately, a woman filed a civil lawsuit in 2020 accusing Gooding of raping her at a hotel in 2013. He denied the allegation.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
