Actor Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lawyer has declared a “#NotMe” Movement after the actor was denied a case dismissal.
Judge Phyllis Chu denied the motion to dismiss misdemeanor forcible touching charges against Gooding Jr. on Wednesday, according to a report published by Page Six.
After reviewing surveillance video, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lawyer says his client, who is being accused of groping a woman, has “not acted inappropriately in any shape or form” https://t.co/IZhs9P9Ncu pic.twitter.com/XDtX27YUw2
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 13, 2019
“After fifty years of defending innocent, falsely accused and unfairly prosecuted defendants, I am igniting the ‘Not Me Movement’ (#NotMe),'” Gooding Jr.’s attorney Mark Heller said.
Gooding Jr. was accused of groping a woman at a Manhattan bar on June 9. The woman told police that the “Jerry Maguire” actor grabbed her breast while the actor’s girlfriend sat in between them. Surveillance video released shows Gooding Jr. grab the woman’s chest and then reach for her hand to kiss it. (RELATED: Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Lawyer Claims Video Surveillance Shows No Groping Occurred)
Gooding Jr. argued for dismissal of his case, but a judge ruled against the motion.
“The court finds the defendant has failed to meet his burden of setting forth compelling reasons to warrant dismissal,” the judge wrote in the decision.
Gooding Jr. has denied the allegations and his attorney claimed the surveillance footage proves the actor is innocent.
“I am totally confident that when a jury of Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s peers assess all of the exculpatory evidence in this case, that he will be totally exonerated,” Heller said. “His case will be a hallmark example for the #NotMe Movement.”