A 26-year-old former assistant to Paul Schrader is accusing him of several counts of harassment, including an incident where the 78-year-old director allegedly exposed himself to her during the film festival in Cannes last year.
The woman claims that Paul Schrader initially offered her money to keep quiet, but then backed out of the agreement and she has now sued him.
Now, Paul Schrader is speaking out in an open letter to friends and acquaintances in the film industry, writes Variety.
"It's important that you hear this directly from me", writes the director, who claims that the assistant demanded several million dollars from him in exchange for not going public with her allegations.
Schrader admits to having kissed his assistant on two occasions. During the second incident, at the Cannes festival, "she indicated discomfort", writes the director. According to him, they never had sex.
"I have nothing to hide about my behavior, including my decision not to give in to the pressure of my former assistant's threats to make her sensational allegations public, a threat that she and her lawyers have now carried out".
Paul Schrader wrote the screenplays for the classic films "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and "American Gigolo". He also directed the latter film.
