Cuba Gooding Jr. used to be a giant star in Hollywood; outside of Will Smith he was the go-to African American actor. He even won an Oscar for his performance in “Jerry Maguire” and was also a part of hits like “As Good as it Gets,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Men of Honor.”
But he had a string of box-office disasters like “Snow Dogs,” “Boat Trip” and “Radio,” the actor’s career dwindled. It was looking like he was going to have a resurgence with his performance as O.J. Simpson in “The People v. O.J.,” but then he got into some trouble.
And now the Oscar winning actor is facing some serious jail time.
When the Me Too Movement scandal broke in October 2017, sickening allegations against many famous filmmakers and journalists rightfully lost their careers that included Harvey Weinstein, Louis CK, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose.
These individuals allegedly preyed on women (sometimes underage and in Spacey’s case, with young men) for decades with zero consequences for their actions until they were empowered by the movement to share their harrowing experiences.
One of the most recent Hollywood players exposed was Academy Award winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
The “Jerry Maguire” star is in a world of trouble because a woman accused him of groping her at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge near Times Square in Manhattan on Sunday night. She alleges Gooding fondled her breasts.
The 51-year-old turned himself in and pleaded not guilty. He told TMZ months ago when he was initially charged, “there’s a tape that shows what really happened. That’s the most important thing.”
But now Gooding Jr. faces new charges of sexual misconduct and prosecutors say they have twelve different women willing to testify against the actor that occurred in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas and Albuquerque. All of this spans from 2001 to 2018 and the allegations range from touching to grabbing in places like bars and restaurants.
New: Cuba Gooding Jr. pleads not guilty to sexual misconduct charges alleged by 2 women. Prosecutors say they have 12 additional women willing to testify against Cuba.
— Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) October 15, 2019
However, the prosecutors may want these accusers’ testimonies specifically to establish a pattern. With that said, only two women are part of the indictment. This may be an aggressive stronghold tactic to threaten Gooding Jr. into a plea deal instead of moving forward with a trial.
But the defense had filed papers saying the misdemeanor forcible touching case should be dismissed based on accounts of two witnesses who say it never happened.
It appears as though the “As Good as it Gets” actor has done this many times before considering how many people have come forward so far.
If convicted, Gooding Jr. faces up to a year in jail.
Just when you thought his career was reviving with his powerful performance as O.J. Simpson, this is the kind of thing that will stop that momentum right in its tracks.