Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was slapped with two lawsuits Wednesday from two women seeking damages for the anguish they endured when the Oscar winner groped and forcibly kissed them in separate incidents in New York City.
One plaintiff “somewhat naively” agreed to wait on Gooding Jr.’s table at the LAVO nightclub on the evening of Sept. 9, 2018, after her coworker complained that the movie star previously subjected her to “inappropriate behavior,” the court papers viewed by The Post allege.
The woman was serving the actor’s drinks when “without consent or permission, [he] put his mouth up to Plaintiff’s and forced his tongue into her mouth,” the court filing continued.
Gooding Jr., 55, pleaded guilty to a downgraded charge of second-degree harassment related to the incident as part of a sweetheart deal in April 2022, the new lawsuit noted.
In the second suit, plaintiff Kelsey Harbert accused Gooding Jr. of placing his hand on her leg and then groping her breast at the Magic House Rooftop Bar & Lounge on June 9, 2019, the filing read.
The “Men of Honor” star was “intoxicated” and in full view of his girlfriend when he ignored Harbert’s attempt to remove his hand from her breast and tried to kiss her hand, the complaint continued.
Harbert filed a police report, and Gooding Jr. was arrested for forcible touching four days later, the court papers say.
The incident was later included in the actor’s 2022 plea deal, and he admitted in court that he subjected her to “‘non-consensual physical contact,’” the lawsuit adds.
Both Herbert and the first plaintiff are now seeking jury trials for damages related to “lost wages, emotional distress, punitive damages, liquidated damages and attorney’s fees” they sustained as a result of the actor’s behavior, the two lawsuits say.
Attorneys for Gooding Jr. did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The suits were filed under the terms of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which is set to expire Thursday.
“Our clients were deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case. They are now seeking justice and accountability in their civil cases,” attorneys Gloria Allred and Casey Wolnowski said on behalf of the plaintiffs.
“We are proud of their courage and intend to vigorously fight for them until they win the justice that they deserve.”
Harbert previously gave a victim impact statement when Gooding Jr. had his criminal record wiped clean after completing the flimsy terms of his sweetheart deal in Oct. 2022.
“This plea deal feels like a misstep,” she said in Manhattan Criminal Court at the time.
“It’s hard to describe the weight that comes from a situation like this. Your brain wants to make sense of what happens to you,” she said. “What does a bad person look like? Why was I targeted?”
The Wednesday lawsuits are the latest in a string of troubling complaints against Gooding Jr., who was set to face a civil trial in June for allegedly raping a woman in 2013 before the parties reached an eleventh-hour settlement.
Though terms of the last-minute deal were not disclosed, the accuser was originally seeking $6 million in damages.