Horatio Sanz accuser claims Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon and Tracy Morgan were 'enablers'
Aug 26, 2022
Washington [US], August 26 : Horatio Sanz, a former cast member of 'Saturday Night Live,' was accused of sexual assault by a woman in a complaint filed last year. This week, the woman asked the judge to add Jimmy Fallon, Lorne Michaels, and Tracy Morgan as defendants for allowing the alleged misbehaviour.
According to Fox News, The accuser, who goes by the name Jane Doe in a new complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, claims that "SNL" producer Michaels encouraged a predatory environment by permitting underage girls to attend "after-parties" and "after-after-parties," where they were served alcohol.
The Pennsylvania woman, then 17, said that she was sexually assaulted at an "SNL" party in 2002 hosted by Morgan, where "hired sex workers were part of the entertainment."
The lawsuit claims that she repeatedly demanded former cast member Sanz to stop as he reportedly groped her and removed her shirt from her breast in front of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Seth Meyers, Maya Rudolph, and other "SNL" greats.
She claims that later that evening, in a taxi, the comedian attempted to digitally penetrate her while kissing her. "Jane suffered lifelong trauma as a result of Sanz's sexual abuse and all of those at NBC who enabled and condoned it," according to the filing.
"She was profoundly dehumanized as her heroes stood and laughed at her while her teenage body was violated. She felt like she would never be the same. Her mental health and professional aspirations were entirely derailed," the suit says.
In response to the new allegations, an NBC spokesperson told People, "Regardless of Jane Doe's changing narratives, NBC intends to renew its motion to dismiss."
An "SNL" fan page that Jane Doe once managed was hacked. She first interacted with the show's regulars when Fallon wrote her an encouraging email following the breach that contained a message from Sanz.
A few weeks later, Sanz, who was 31 at the time, allegedly gave the then-15-year-old a suggestive kiss on the cheek at an "SNL" dress rehearsal, starting what she later referred to as a "grooming process."
She began going to the "after-parties," where she claims she consumed alcohol in front of and alongside Michaels, Fallon, and Morgan, all of whom were aware that she was underage.
The original lawsuit against NBCUniversal was filed in August 2021.
