Fast and Furious American actor, Vin Diesel is facing allegations of sexual battery in a new lawsuit filed by a former assistant. The lawsuit, filed on December 21, 2023, in Los Angeles, asserts that the incident occurred in a St. Regis hotel suite in 2010 while the assistant was working for the Fast and Furious star during the filming of Fast Five.
According to the plaintiff, Asta Jonasson, who was contracted by Diesel’s company, One Race, detailed in the suit that she had recently graduated from a Los Angeles film school program and was assisting the actor in organizing parties, accompanying him to events, and being in close physical proximity during public appearances. “The suit alleges that late one night in September 2010, Jonasson was asked to wait in Diesel’s suite at the St. Regis hotel while he entertained hostesses he had brought back from a club. Once the other women were gone, the lawsuit claims, Diesel ‘grabbed Ms. Jonasson’s wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed.’ She asked him to stop, escaped his grasp, and waited by the front door of the suite for him to leave,” Vanity Fair reported. The complainant in the lawsuit alleged that the actor once approached her, engaging in unwanted touching of her breasts and kissing her chest, disregarding her pleas for him to cease. “Ms. Jonasson was afraid to more forcibly refuse her supervisor, knowing that getting him out of that room was both crucial to her personal safety and job security,” the suit continues. “But this hope died when Vin Diesel dropped to his knees, pushed Ms. Jonasson’s dress up toward her waist, and molested her body, running his hands over Ms. Jonasson’s upper legs, including her inner thighs.” “Diesel moved to pull down her underwear, Jonasson screamed and ran down the hallway toward the bathroom, where Diesel pinned her to the wall, placing her hand on his erect pennis, even as she verbally refused. He masturbated while ‘terrified, Ms. Jonasson closed her eyes, trying to dissociate from the sexual assault and avoid angering him.’” The lawsuit goes on to claim that Samantha Vincent, Diesel’s sister and the president of One Race, terminated Jonasson’s employment after a tenure of less than two weeks. The suit also accused the actor of “discrimination on the basis of sex/gender, intentional infliction of emotional distress, hostile work environment, wrongful termination, and retaliation.” It further accuses Diesel and One Race of, “An attempted cover-up” adding that Jonasson “has suffered and continues to suffer humiliation, emotional distress, and mental and physical pain and anguish.” The lawsuit mentioned that Jonasson had signed a nondisclosure agreement before accepting the position at One Race, preventing her from speaking publicly about the incident. However, the Speak Out Act, which prohibits the enforcement of nondisclosure agreements in cases of sexual assault and harassment in the US, along with California’s AB2777, temporarily waiving statutes of limitations for sexual abuse allegations from 2009 onward, now enables her to share her experience. As of now, Diesel has not issued a public response to the lawsuit.
Dele Alli at a match for England against Croatia. Source: Getty In a candid and emotional interview, the 27-year-old also revealed he had an addiction to sleeping tablets and disclosed how he spent six weeks in rehab in the USA this summer. Alli said during the interview; “At six I was molested by my mum’s friend, who was at the house a lot. My mum was an alcoholic. “Then I was sent to Africa (to his father) to learn discipline and then I was sent back. (At) seven I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. “An older person told me that they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike, so I rode around with my football, and then underneath I’d have the drugs, that was eight. “Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate, a man. “Twelve, I was adopted… I was adopted by an amazing family like I said, I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they’d done for me. If God created people, it was them.” 
Dele Alli playing for Everton. Source: Getty On receiving treatment for addiction this summer, Alli said; “I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably not a problem only I have. I think it’s something that’s going around more than people realise in football. “Now is probably the right time to tell people. It’s tough to talk about it as it’s quite recent and something I’ve hid for a long time and I’m scared to talk about. When I came back from Turkey, I came back and found out I needed an operation. “I was in a bad place mentally. I decided to go to a modern rehab facility that deals with addiction and mental health and trauma. I felt it was time for me. You can’t be told to go there, you have to make the decision yourself. “I was in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm. I was waking up every day, winning the fight going into training every day smiling – willing to show I was happy. Inside I was losing the battle and it was time to change. When I was told I needed surgery I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle began. “Everton were amazing and supported me. I will be grateful to them forever. For them to be so honest and understanding I couldn’t ask for anything more during a time I was making the biggest decision of my life – doing something I was scared to do. I’m happy I’ve done it.” Commenting further on his addiction issues, Alli added; “Before when I’d stop, I’d still sometimes have the urge, but I’d maintain [being] sober for a period of time and then there’d always be a time where something would happen, I’d get the feelings back and I’d want to escape. I was taking a lot – I don’t want to talk about numbers, but it was definitely way too much. 
Dele Alli play for Besiktas in Super Lig. Source: Getty “And there were some scary moments. The teams give you them for a reason – to sleep. I wasn’t taking them to sleep, I’d take them throughout the day, sometimes from 11am if I had the day off. I would never take them if I was playing, but I’d start early if I had the day off, just to escape from the reality. “It started with a doctor giving them to me and then it turned into more than that. When you want something, you’ll find a way. At the start, it was one to sleep – and, for most people, that’s fine. You can handle that, that’s all you need. But, for me, it was fixing something else that I didn’t know I could fix. “Don’t get me wrong, I love football. It’s saved my life. I owe everything to football. But it’s not just as easy as everyone thinks it is. Yes, you have money and you can do a lot of things you wouldn’t be able to do without it, but mentally, until you’re in it, I don’t think people will ever understand what it can do to you. “Probably the saddest moment for me was when Jose Mourinho was [Tottenham] manager. I was 24. I remember there was one session – this is when he’d stopped playing me – I was in a bad place and I remember just looking in the mirror. It sounds dramatic, but I was literally staring in the mirror and asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love. “For me, that was heart-breaking to even have had that thought. That hurt me and was another thing I had to carry.” Alli was one of English football’s biggest talents, a member of the England team that reached the World Cup semifinals in 2018 after a period when he was a star of Mauricio Pochettino’s young Tottenham side that nearly won the Premier League. However, the attacking midfielder’s career has derailed in recent years. After winning the last of his 37 England caps in 2019, Alli fell out of favour at Tottenham which prompted a transfer to Everton, where he has since struggled to make an impact, spending last season on loan at Besiktas 
Mexican football club, Pumas, has terminated its contract with Dani Alves after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on Friday, January 20. 
It was reported earlier that the former Barcelona full-back and veteran Brazil international was accused of allegedly putting his hands inside the underwear of a woman without her consent while she was dancing with friends and then following her into a toilet. She is said to have informed security staff in the club, who activated Barcelona city council’s protocol against assaults and sexual harassment. 39-year-old Alves appeared before a judge yesterday, who ordered that he be held in custody without bail. 
Though he has denied the allegation against him, Liga MX side Pumas has reacted to the allegation by terminating his contract which was set to expire in July 2023. This was announced by the club chairman Leopoldo Silva in a brief statement to the press on Friday evening. 
According to police, the Catalan authorities received a complaint regarding Dani Alves on January 2 from a woman who claimed that he had behaved inappropriately and touched her at popular Barcelona nightclub Sutton on the night of December 30-31. Daily newspaper ABC said Alves allegedly put his hands inside the underwear of a woman without her consent while she was dancing with friends and then followed her into a toilet. She is said to have informed security staff in the club, who activated Barcelona city council’s protocol against assaults and sexual harassment. The 39-year-old defender was summoned to a Barcelona police station where he was “taken into custody” and will now be questioned by a judge, said a spokesperson for Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra. 
Alves has already confirmed he was at the nightclub at the time but has denied any wrongdoing, telling private Spanish television station Antena 3 earlier this month that he has “never seen” the woman before. He said; “Yes, I was in that place, with more people, enjoying myself. And people who know me know that I love to dance. I was dancing and enjoying myself without invading the space of others. “I don’t know who that lady is. You arrive at a bathroom and you don’t have to ask who’s there. I have never invaded anyone’s space. How am I going to do it with a woman or a girl? No, for God’s sake.” His wife Joana Sanz told Antena 3 in an interview on January 9 that her husband had gone “out to dinner with friends, to disconnect a bit” on December 30. 
“He went out to dance and try to enjoy music as likes, period. Nothing wrong happened…I know how respectful he is,” she added. Alves, who now plays for Mexican side Pumas UNAM, was in Barcelona on holiday following his participation at the World Cup with Brazil in Qatar. He was the oldest player to represent Brazil at the men’s World Cup. A Barcelona court said earlier this month it had opened a probe “into an alleged crime of sexual assault as a result of a complaint filed by a woman against a footballer”. 