Back in January, it was first reported by TMZ that Mia Goth, director Ti West, and distributor A24 were all defendants in a lawsuit filed by a background actor on MaXXXine, alleging that Goth intentionally kicked him in the head while he was playing a corpse during a nighttime shoot. In the lead-up to the film’s release last week, news on the lawsuit has been relatively quiet. So much so, that Sharai Bohannon of Dread Central wrote a column back in May, specifically asking Why Is No One Talking About Mia Goth’s Disturbing ‘MaXXXine’ Lawsuit?
Now, five days into MaXXXine‘s release, Dread Central is again the outlet to provide the latest update on the lawsuit, with a new exclusive account of the events by the accuser, now being identified as Los Angeles-based background actor James Hunter. I’m not going to waste time reiterating everything said in the article. The general sequence of events is that Hunter was lying on the ground during an outdoor shoot, specifically mentioning the presence of ants and mosquitos, and following a close call with Mia Goth’s foot, after which he informed an AD. Hunter alleges that during the next take, he was intentionally kicked in the head. This was followed by an alleged encounter with Mia Goth in a washroom, where she allegedly told him to get off her sent.
The article also states that the official statement from A24 is that they believe the claims are not true. In additional comments would be made, as this is still an active case. Mia Goth herself only briefly alluded to the case in a New York Times interview, stating that she was grateful for A24’s support.
My Thoughts on the Mia Goth Allegations
In the age of cancel culture, it is very easy for the court of public opinion to take precedence and pass judgment on celebrities accused of horrible deeds, ignoring the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty. At this time, the only opinion stated on the matter has been that of the victim, James Hunter. Those in support of him state that it is important that celebrities be found accountable when they abuse someone, as seen in this post on X praising Dread Central for doing their journalistic duty and telling James Hunter’s story.
I am certain there is probably a certain element of truth to James Hunter’s story and he probably believes the events happened in the way he alleges. However, based on my limited knowledge that comes from my day job of working as Location Support Personnel on Toronto film sets, I can’t help but view this story with a grain of salt. Specifically, this is regarding the role background actors play on film sets.
Background actors, more commonly referred to as extras, are often hired on a daily basis to fill out scenes. They are usually kept in an isolated area called “background holding,” before being escorted to set by an AD. Based on my personal on-set experience, I ended up raising my eyebrows at James Hunter alleging that he was the only background actor on shift and that he had access to the same washroom as Mia Goth. While this may be true, my knowledge about the role of background actors on set, albeit limited, contradicts these statements.
Ultimately, we probably won’t know the full story about this lawsuit until we get Mia Goth’s side of the story, which from the looks of it probably won’t happen until the case goes to trial. However, I also hope that people don’t fully give in to the, at this point, one-sided hyperbole and blindly “cancel” Mia Goth as a result. Sometimes it is better to just let cases like this play out in the courts.