Noel Clarke has been answering questions under cross-examination at the High Court in London today about allegations made against him by a producer with whom he worked, as part of his libel trial against Guardian News and Media (GNM).
Gina Powell, a producer who worked for Clarke’s company Unstoppable, accused the filmmaker of sexual assault, bullying and exposing himself to her in a car.
Clarke denies the allegations and is suing over eight articles in the Guardian in which 20 women who knew him professionally reported allegations of misconduct.
Gavin Millar KC, representing GNM, said Powell had to take a bar job in Soho, London “to make ends meet”, while she was working for Clarke’s Unstoppable between 2014 and 2017.
“You used her as a full-time assistant and worked her hard,” said Millar, according to a news report in The Independent. “She was poorly paid and struggling to make ends meet, and you knew that.”
“That is not my business,” replied Clarke. “I gave her money when I could. I let her sell things on eBay and keep the money.
“She has a mother. It’s her job to look after her, not mine.”
“We only ever agreed to pay expenses,” continued Clarke. “We paid for flights most of the time when she wanted to go somewhere. None of us were making money. It was a bunch of freelancers trying to get films made. No-one was special. So I don’t know why I am responsible for her bank balance.”
Speaking in court today, Clarke contested Millar’s assertion that he would scream at Powell. Clarke said that he “helped her immensely.”
“You resented [Powell’s bar job] because she was not available to do your Unstoppable work,” said Millar.
“There were times when we needed things done that were not done, including the contracts that ended up costing me £15,000,” responded Clarke. “So if she was not doing things that she needed to do that caused quite an annoyance.”
The court also heard that Clarke owed Powell £3,000 following the production of 2016 feature Brotherhood, which Clarke wrote, directed, produced and in which he starred, that was produced by Powell. Clarke claimed the figure was a result of Powell having “manipulated her contract”.
“She is a fantasist”
On the second day of Clarke’s cross-examination on Tuesday, March 11, the filmmaker was asked about a letter sent by his lawyers to Imogen, a woman accusing him of sexual misconduct (her name has been changed for legal reasons).
“You were trying to deter her from giving evidence on our [GNM’s] side weren’t you?” said Millar, according to a Guardian report. “The truth is that this letter is a straightforward attempt at witness intimidation.”
Clarke denied any attempt to deter Imogen from giving evidence, saying he did not know she was a witness at the time, and that the letter was an attempt to get her to be a witness for him. He said he did not intend to threaten prosecution, and had expressed concerns that the letter “was a little harsh”.
The court was told Clarke had met Imogen for dinner at London’s Soho House in 2014 when she was 19 and hoping to advance her career, which Millar claimed Clarke “capitalised on”.
The lawyer claimed that, at the dinner, Clarke asked Imogen if she liked oral sex and said she would like it with him, told her he had wanted to “fuck her” since the moment they met. He suggested they go to his flat for sex and film it and told her he was “hard” and so needed to go to the bathroom “but not to use the toilet”.
Clarke denied making any of those comments and claimed Imogen had flirted with him. In court, he initially denied propositioning Imogen but when Millar showed him evidence that he had told an associate he had done so, Clarke corrected his statement to say he only did so in response to her advances.
The court heard that, the day after the dinner, Imogen posted on social media site Tumblr about Clarke’s behaviour. Asked by Millar why she would make up the allegations, Clarke said she was “a writer”.
“On my kids, that is not what happened at our dinner, and she is a fantasist because that is what she does,” said Clarke. “She is into women’s rights, which I do not knock, I used to be as well.”
The hearing is due to conclude in April, with a decision in writing expected at a later date.
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