In June, director Paul Haggis was arrested on the sidelines of a film festival in Italy. A young woman accuses him of sexually assaulting her. In an interview, the Oscar winner now dismisses the allegations and cannot explain all of this.
Oscar winner Paul Haggis continues to insist on his innocence in the trial before the court in Brindisi, Italy, over allegations of sexual assault. “I’m innocent and I’m sure that will show,” said the 69-year-old director in an interview with the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”. He made the mistake of allowing someone he barely knew to visit him and ending an “awkward situation,” the Canadian explained. “I still don’t understand what led to these false accusations against me.”
Haggis was arrested on June 19 in Ostuni, Puglia, in southern Italy, on suspicion of sexually assaulting a British woman in her 30s in a hotel for three days. He initially remained under house arrest until the investigating magistrate in Brindisi released him after an evidentiary hearing. According to media reports, the public prosecutor’s office has meanwhile appealed and justified this with the risk of the crime being repeated.
Allegations of sexual abuse against the filmmaker were made in the United States in 2018, which Haggis vehemently denied. The case ended up in court and is still being tried there. “I have no problems with women,” Haggis said when asked by La Repubblica. He has had relationships with dozens of women and none have ever reported him to the police or prosecutors.
Haggis now fears for his reputation because of the proceedings in Italy. “A person’s reputation is built over a lifetime but can be destroyed in a minute, even from completely baseless allegations like this,” he explained. After the allegations in the US, it took him five years to rebuild his name. He has now lost two jobs as a screenwriter after his arrest in Italy.
Haggis became the first writer to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in two consecutive years – for “Million Dollar Baby” and for “L.A. Crash”. Later he also co-wrote the books for the James Bond films “Casino Royale” (2006) and “Quantum of Solace” (2008).
