High-powered civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom held a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday with two women who shared their stories about allegedly having been raped and sexual assaulted by actor Steven Seagal, after coming forward with their accusations in a piece for The Wrap earlier this year. Previously, Bloom previously represented Bill O’Reilly’s accusers and more recently, Scott Baio’s Charles in Charge costars Nicole Eggert and Alexander Polinsky. Bloom also resigned as advisor for Harvey Weinstein not long after the sexual misconduct allegations went public.
During the press conference, actress Regina Simons alleged that Seagal had raped her when she was just 18-years-old on the set of the 1994 action film On Deadly Ground. She said that she had been lured to the actor’s house under the guise of a wrap party, but when she showed up quickly realized that was not the case:
“He closed the door and approached me from behind he started kissing my neck and taking off my clothes. I was in shock,” Simons said. “I was completely caught off guard. Seagal was more than twice my size and twice my age. I was not sexually active nor had I ever been naked in front of a man before.
“There was nothing consensual about this. I couldn’t move and I felt as if I was watching my body from above..I felt tears coming down my face,” Simons said. “Seagal finally finished, and I dressed as fast as I possibly could. He put his hand on the door and asked me if I needed any money. I said no and ran for the door.”
The second woman, former model Faviola Dadis, recalled being groped by Seagal during an audition in 2002 when she was just 17. She has since filed a police report with the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Steven asked me to take off his clothes, which I did even though I was nervous that there were no other individuals in the room with him,” Dadis described. “Steven approached me and said he would like to act out a romantic scene…I felt uncomfortable because I was in my bikini and I shyly expressed this, except instead of respecting my boundaries, Steven slipped his hand under my bikini top and began pinching my nipples and simultaneously slid his hand over my vaginal area.”
“I quickly yelled that this audition is over, and I began gathering my things,” she continued. “Steven sat there calmly as if nothing had happened, while I was noticeably upset and terrified by the experience. Steven’s security guard stood blocking the doorway and only moved when Steven motioned for him to do so. I left feeling horrified and totally violated.”
Simons and Dadis are not the first women to speak out about Seagal. Late last year, Portia de Rossi came forward with a similar story about how Seagal had exposed himself to her during an audition. A day later, Jenny McCarthy detailed her own incident with the action film star, in which he had insisted that she strip down during an audition in 1995 for Under Siege 2. McCarthy says she declined and walked out of the audition.
You can watch Bloom’s press conference below:
(Via USA Today)