An assistant costume designer who worked on Kevin Connolly's directorial debut claims the "Entourage" star sexually assaulted her at the movie's 2005 wrap party at the now-closed Manhattan bar Butter.
Gracie Cox, who has since left the business, told the Daily Beast in an explosive account out Wednesday that Connolly raped her without a condom at the lounge while the cast and crew of "The Gardener of Eden" were inside celebrating the completion of the indie movie.
Cox claims Connolly, who was dating Nicky Hilton at the time, had been "mildly flirtatious" on set but said she "laughed it off" and didn't participate in the banter.
But during the wrap party, she claims he took it too far.
Connolly allegedly asked a tipsy Cox to smoke with him and then "led (her) down a hall" to the VIP lounge area, she told the Daily Beast.
"As soon as we were alone in that area, he started to kiss me," she said. "I didn't know how to respond _ but before I could even think about what to do about it, he pulled me into one of these little side (booths), and pulled down my pants, and turned me around, and within no time was inside of me. I was just in shock."
Cox claims Connolly ejaculated inside her without a condom, then "threw" a pillow at her and told her to clean herself off.
"He then told me that he was going to leave and to wait a few minutes, because he didn't want anyone to see us together," Cox told the Daily Beast.
But her boss, costume designer Amy Westcott, allegedly saw Cox leave the area.
"Amy was immediately enraged and protective, and then went after (Connolly)," Cox said. "Then they had an argument in the middle of the party, yelling at each other. Amy said, 'Let's get you home,' and put me in a cab."
Cox claims she approached attorney Gloria Allred in 2017, just as the #MeToo movement was gaining steam, but told the Daily Beast that Allred rejected her because the alleged assault was past the statute of limitations.
Connolly denied that he sexually assaulted Cox and claimed the sex was consensual.
"Kevin strongly supports victims of sexual assault and believes their claims should always be heard. As someone who has worked in this industry for four decades, he has treated people with nothing but respect and has maintained a stellar reputation. Therefore, he was completely shocked to learn of the allegations made by Gracie Cox from a wrap party in 2005," he said in a statement to the Daily Beast.
"Kevin completely understands Amy's displeasure with the consensual act that transpired between Kevin and Gracie 15 years ago, after production had wrapped and they were no longer working together on the movie. Kevin acknowledges the lack of professionalism on his part, but he adamantly denies that it was anything other than a mutual consensual encounter."
