A woman accusing Horatio Sanz of sexually assaulting her when she was a teen now claims Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels and NBC all “enabled” the comedian’s alleged misconduct.
According to an amended complaint filed in New York on Tuesday and obtained by Page Six, the alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe, was only 16 when she began attending parties and drinking alcohol in front of “SNL” stars and executives.
“NBC, Sanz, Michaels, Fallon and Morgan enabled each other’s crime of unlawfully
dealing with a child and endangering the welfare of a child,” the accuser claims in the documents.
In the complaint, the Pennsylvania woman reaffirms the allegations she made in her original lawsuit in August 2021, claiming that Sanz, now 53, “rubbed her vagina, in full view of party onlookers” and “groped” her breasts and buttocks at a loft party hosted by Morgan, also 53, and his friends.
Doe also previously accused “SNL” alums Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Maya Rudolph of “gawking” and doing nothing while she was allegedly groped by the “Tomcats” actor at the 2002 afterparty.
“NBC, Michaels, Fallon and Morgan enabled Sanz’s crimes of sexual assault and battery,” the accuser claims in the new docs.
The complaint also alleges Doe suffered “lifelong trauma as a result of Sanz’s sexual abuse and all of those at NBC who enabled and condoned it.”
“She was profoundly dehumanized as her heroes stood and laughed at her while her teenage body was violated,” the documents further claim. “She felt like she would never be the same. Her mental health and professional aspirations were entirely derailed.”
Doe is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and demands a trial by jury.
Her attorney Susan Crumiller told Page Six on Wednesday, “Sanz and his enablers lured Jane into their celebrity world and made her feel like a cool kid for drinking and partying with a bunch of famous grown-ups. Instead, they destroyed her life.
“Jane has spent the past two decades struggling with the repercussions of what they did to her; now it’s their turn. We look forward to holding NBC, Sanz and everyone else who enabled this disgusting behavior accountable when the GMVA lookback window opens in March.”
The woman was first able to bring her early 2000s claims — despite the fact that they passed outside of the statute of limitations — under the New York Child Victims’ Act, which opened a so-called “look-back” window for survivors of childhood abuse to file suit regardless of when the incidents took place. Legislation also passed for victims of gender violence to have a two-year look-back window.
An NBC spokesperson told Page Six on Wednesday on behalf of the network, Michaels and Fallon, “Regardless of Jane Doe’s changing narratives, NBC intends to renew its motion to dismiss.”
Reps for Sanz did not immediately return our request for comment, but a spokesperson for the comic issued a statement when the lawsuit was first filed, calling the claims “categorically false.”
“However often she repeats her ludicrous allegations or tries to rope in other high-profile names to generate media attention, they will always be false,” attorney Andrew Brettler said in August 2021.
“Before filing this lawsuit anonymously, she demanded $7.5 million in exchange for her silence. We, of course, refused and will vigorously contest these totally meritless claims.”
