CAA has fired Cameron Mitchell after actress Demi Mann accused the agent of multiple instances of sexual assault and harassment in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
The agency has also denied accusations in the lawsuit that it rejected Mann’s attempts to bring Mitchell’s behavior to its attention, but says it moved to fire Mitchell after it “received new information not previously revealed during the agency’s investigation.”
“CAA’s policy is not to comment on pending litigation. However, given the nature of Ms. Mann’s allegations, we feel compelled to provide an accurate set of facts,” the agency said in a statement provided to TheWrap. “When Ms. Mann reached out to CAA in October, we immediately launched a fair, impartial and thorough investigation. We spoke with Ms. Mann multiple times, suspended Mr. Mitchell pending the completion of the investigation, and, based upon the information we could gather, took other appropriate action.”
The statement continued: “Ms. Mann was not nor has she ever been a client of the agency. As is clear from Ms. Mann’s allegations in the complaint, she did not have any interactions with any agents at CAA except for Mr. Mitchell. To the extent Mr. Mitchell formed a personal relationship with Ms. Mann, it was solely that, and outside the bounds of a professional relationship between CAA and Ms. Mann. After Ms. Mann shared her lawsuit with the press, CAA received new information not previously revealed during the agency’s investigation. Mr. Mitchell’s employment with the agency has ended as of today. With respect to Ms. Mann’s specific accusations against CAA, the agency categorically denies them and will vigorously defend itself in the litigation.”
Mann is suing both CAA and Mitchell for assault, battery, sexual battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, and negligence.
She says Mitchell conducted a long-term campaign of manipulation and sexual harassment, and of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions, including one instance in which he drugged her. She also says he made repeated false promises about her career and failing to find her roles.
The suit claims that Mitchell pursued her as a client for two years, and after she agreed, he began subjecting her to “unprofessional” behavior which escalated to include blatant harassment and, on more than one occasion, coerced sexual contact.
The suit adds that on Sept. 22, 2017, Mann was “subjected to the ingestion of a drug or other foreign substance sufficient to render her defenseless” by Mitchell. She says she “found herself on her own bed hours later without memory of what had occurred during that span of time, and with Defendant MITCHELL lying next to her fully naked.”
The suit also states that Mann attempted to report Mitchell to CAA Human Resources three weeks later, but the company “refused” to meet with her. “CAA coldly divorced itself from the matter, refused to take any action,” the suit says, and advised her “that she would have to be solely responsible for her own safety.”
Mitchell “emphatically” denied Mann’s accusations in a press statement, and accused her of having financial motives, calling her lawsuit “a calculated attempt to justify remaining in the U.S., as she is here on a temporary visa.”
“CAA agent Cameron Mitchell emphatically denies any wrongdoing in regards to accusations filed in a civil suit by aspiring actress Demi Mann, who had been under consideration for representation, as is a common practice, but has never been a client of CAA. In fact, Mitchell is adamant that the allegations are not only false, but egregious. Approximately two months ago, just two days after Mitchell communicated that he could no longer consider representation of Mann at CAA, she contacted HR at the agency with complaints against Mitchell. Mann’s allegations appear to be a calculated attempt to justify remaining in the U.S., as she is here on a temporary visa.
When the charges were initially made directly to CAA’s HR department against both Mitchell and CAA, the agency conducted a comprehensive internal investigation over a three week period, which concluded two weeks prior to the civil filing and concluded that the charges were unfounded. He has been a key agent in the motion picture department at CAA for five years with such illustrious clients as Common, Djimon Hounsou, Gabrielle Union, Demetrius Shipp Jr., Reginald Hudlin, Terrence Howard and Will Packer. His reputation as a client’s advocate precedes him in all of his business dealings throughout his renowned 12 year career.”
“In the current climate, it is not unexpected that there will be individuals willing to make unfounded complaints in an attempt to dig into deep pockets,” said Mitchell’s counsel, Stephen Larson. “It is sad that Ms. Mann has chosen to take this path.”