Cuba Gooding Jr. settles civil rape case moments before trial was due to start

Cuba Gooding Jr has settled a civil lawsuit out of court.
Cuba Gooding Jr has settled a civil lawsuit out of court. Photo credit: Getty Images

Cuba Gooding Jr. has settled a civil lawsuit in which he was accused of rape just moments before its trial was due to start.

The Jerry Maguire actor was sued for US$6 million in damages in 2020 by an unnamed woman who accused him of raping her in a New York City hotel room 10 years ago.

Jury selection in the trial was due to begin in New York on Tuesday morning (local time) but neither Gooding Jr. or Jane Doe's lawyer Gloria Allred showed up.

According to The New York Times, an entry on an electronic docket for the case appeared Tuesday morning and read, "The parties have resolved the matter."

The terms of the settlement have not been publicly disclosed.

The Oscar-winning actor denied the allegations at the time, calling them "completely false and defamatory", and insisted the encounter was consensual.

Last year, the 55-year-old faced a separate criminal trial over three allegations of unwanted sexual touching.

He originally pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching as part of a plea deal, but after undergoing alcohol and behaviour counselling for six months, he was allowed to admit to a lesser charge of harassment instead in October 2022.