Composer Danny Elfman has been accused by a second woman of alleged sexual harassment in a case with similarities to one revealed in July.
In the new lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, a woman identified as Jane Doe XX claims the Edward Scissorhands composer harassed her over a period from 1997 to 2002, starting when she was a 21-year-old film student.
A spokesperson for Elfman said: “The allegations of misconduct made against Mr. Elfman are baseless and absurd. His legal team is exploring all options and he will vigorously defend these claims in court”.
Jane Doe XX alleges that she and Elfman had a mentor-protege relationship, but that at some point Elfman began to strip and expose himself during their meetings. Early in the relationship, she visited him at the Mercer Hotel in New York. According to the suit, he took off all his clothes and stood naked in front of the window. She claims he then forced her to do the same.
She felt uncomfortable and quickly put her clothes back on, according to the lawsuit. The next time they saw each other, he stripped again and insisted that she watch him take a bath, the suit alleges.
Over the next five years, this became a regular occurrence, the suit says.
Elfman would remove his clothes “until he was completely naked and would walk around naked in front of Plaintiff, exposing his genitals. Defendant Elfman expressed to Plaintiff that this was the only way he could work, be creative and be successful”.
According to the lawsuit, she felt she could not say anything about this because she was lucky to be in the position she was in.
Jane Doe XX moved to Los Angeles, where she often visited Elfman at his home. According to the lawsuit, she would spend the night in Elfman’s bed, keeping her clothes on and often sleeping over the covers while he was naked. She said this happened about 40 times.
In 2002, Elfman revealed to her that “every time you have ever slept next to me, I have masturbated next to you,” according to the suit.
This revelation ended the relationship as Jane Doe XX experienced “shock, humiliation and shame”. She said she later revealed the situation to others in Elfman’s orbit, but was told there was nothing she could do because of “who he is”.
She decided to come forward after reading that Nomi Abadi, a pianist and composer, had made similar allegations about Elfman’s behaviour in 2015 and 2016. Abadi received an $830,000 settlement, but sued Elfman earlier this year for failing to pay the full amount. Elfman has denied Abadi’s claims, saying the relationship was platonic and that their limited interactions were “entirely consensual”.
The new lawsuit names Elfman and his company, Musica de la Muerta, and alleges sexual battery, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment and negligence. The lawsuit was filed under the California Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which revives old claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations in cases where there is some form of institutional cover-up.
Founder of the new wave group Oingo Boingo, Elfman created the theme song for The Simpsons and the music for The Nightmare Before Christmas, Men in Black, Spider-Man and, most recently, Netflix’s Wednesday. He will appear at the Hollywood Bowl next week for “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert”.
