Washington, April 5 -- Director Paul Schrader, who is the screenwriter for 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull', 'American Gigolo' and 'Affliction', has been accused of sexually harassing his former assistant and backing out of making settlement payments, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In a lawsuit filed in New York on Thursday, the 26-year-old woman, named as Jane Doe, claimed Schrader sexually assaulted her at the Cannes Film Festival last year "by luring her into a hotel room and forcibly grabbing her and kissing her, despite her verbal protests." Schrader was at Cannes for the premiere of his film, 'Oh, Canada'.

The woman, who worked for Schrader from May 2021 to September 2024 managed to free herself and flee the hotel room, the suit...