Vin Diesel’s former assistant Asta Jonasson sues Fast & Furious star for ‘sexual battery’ claiming she was ‘terrified’
FAST & Furious star Vin Diesel has been accused of sexual battery by his former assistant, according to a bombshell filing.
The alleged encounter occurred at the St. Regis resort in Atlanta in 2010 while Diesel was filming Fast 5, according to the suit filed in Los Angeles by the actor’s ex-assistant Asta Jonasson.
Jonasson claims she was tasked with escorting Diesel out of his hotel to avoid photographers but alleges that the actor sexually attacked her in his suite, according to the suit.
Diesel allegedly “grabbed Ms. Jonasson’s wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed,” the document, obtained by Vanity Fair, read.
The ex-assistant said she then requested Diesel to stop what he was doing and quickly escaped from the bed before heading to the suite door and asking the actor to leave.
The suit says that Diesel approached Jonasson again by the door, kissing and placing his hands on her chest despite pleas for Diesel to stop.
Jonasson, a recent film school graduate, said in the lawsuit that she feared for her personal safety and job security and did not initially use force to refuse Diesel’s advances.
“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 read.
“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.”
The suit continued to note that Diesel allegedly tried to pull down Jonasson’s underwear, at which point she screamed and ran down the hallway toward the bathroom.
Jonasson claimed Diesel then pinned her against the wall and placed her hands on his erection before she verbally refused again, per the suit.
“Terrified, Ms. Jonasson closed her eyes, trying to dissociate from the sexual assault and avoid angering him,” it continued.
The lawsuit added that Jonasson was fired hours after the alleged incident, with Samantha Vincent, Diesel’s sister, and president of his production company, One Race Films, calling her personally to terminate her employment.
“It was clear to her that she was being fired because she was no longer useful—Vin Diesel had used her to fulfill his sexual desires, and she had resisted his sexual assaults,” the suit claimed.
The legal document added that Jonasson’s “esteem was demolished, and she questioned her own skills and whether a successful career would require her to trade her body for advancement.”
Jonasson also claimed in the suit that days before the alleged assault by Diesel, another supervisor working for Once Race Films requested she come to his room at the St. Regis Atlanta.
The unnamed supervisor then took off his shirt, got on the bed, and told the assistant to “come here,” but Jonasson immediately left the room, the suit read.
The lawsuit claims sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, hostile work environment, discrimination based on sex/gender, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Jonasson also accused Diesel and One Race Films of an attempted cover-up of the altercations detailed in the suit, which claims the graduate student “has suffered and continues to suffer humiliation, emotional distress, and mental and physical pain and anguish.”
Diesel’s attorney hit back at the lawsuit in a statement on Thursday night, calling the claims “outlandish.”
“Let me be very clear, Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety. This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly nine-day employee,” Diesel’s attorney Bryan Freedman said, as reported by Deadline.
“There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations.”
The suit noted that Jonasson maintained her silence since 2010 due to a non-disclosure agreement she signed with One Race Films for employment.
Although the implementation of the Speak Out Act, which was passed into law in 2022, the ex-assistant came forward.
California’s AB2777 bill also revives “claims seeking to recover damages suffered as a result of a sexual assault that occurred on or after January 1, 2009,” further prompting Jonasson to speak out, per the suit.
Jonasson also noted in the document that she felt empowered by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, moving her to “reclaim her agency and justice for the suffering she endured at the hands of Vin Diesel and One Race.”
She has since worked as a production coordinator, among other roles in the entertainment industry, since 2010, per Vanity Fair.
One Race Films did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The U.S. Sun.
Diesel is set to reprise his role as Dominic Toretto in Fast X: Part 2, which he noted on an Instagram post from June to be slated for a release date of April 4, 2025.