Cuba Gooding Jr.’s new film, The Firing Squad, is about redemption — and that’s also the theme of his press tour.
In recent years, the actor best known for his Oscar-winning role in Jerry Maguire has faced multiple sexual assault allegations. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching and is a co-defendant, alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs, in a sexual assault lawsuit. Now, as he promotes the Christian film, from Epoch Studios, he’s addressing the allegations. Gooding said all the turmoil has made him only “stronger” and he feels confident he’ll be welcomed back into mainstream Hollywood again.
What is Gooding saying?
In a July 31 interview on News Nation’s Dan Abrams Live, the host asked Gooding if he expressed “regret, sorrow, apologies for what happened” and Gooding said it’s made him into a “better person.”
“Everything that happens in my life is for a reason,” Gooding replied. “I believe that, and if I continue to walk on my path, whatever that is, I know that the end result [will] be to make me stronger, to be a better person, to be a better father and right now that’s the moment I am in.”
Gooding was confident he’ll be accepted back into the main fold of Hollywood and be hired by big film studios again in the future.
“Oh, sure,” he said. “One hundred percent. You got to remember, we in Hollywood talk to each other. We see each other… I’m in the Hamptons now,” referring to the playground for the rich and famous on Long Island, N.Y. “You go to a restaurant and you walk in, when you have a bad headline, everyone goes, ‘Hang in there.’ … [People] come up to me on the street all the time and yell, ‘Show me the money’ and … ‘I see what you’re going through.’”
In an interview with Extra, he was asked about taking accountability — and Gooding insisted he had.
“I’ve walked my journey and understood that there are things and there’s people and reactions in society that are shifting,” he said. “Life is about adjusting. … People feel that I’m accessible to them, so I come in contact with all kinds of people, from people who adore you to people who are offended by you, people who feel you’re aggressive. And you have to learn that as you walk on this path, you must stay neutral.”
He continued, “You have to make sure that you know your intention. You have to be accountable for your own actions, and I have been. People have spoken positive and negative, but I can’t control that.”
Gooding called the sexual assault lawsuit filed against him and Diddy by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones the “most ridiculous thing ever,” adding, “Welcome to being a celebrity! Welcome to my world.”
As for critics who think it’s convenient he’s found faith amid the scandals, he told the outlet, “It’s that old saying: You can’t please people every time. But people who want to celebrate artistry, that’s my job and that’s my only mission in life.”
What has Gooding been accused of?
Gooding was arrested in 2019 after a woman claimed he groped her at a New York City nightclub. Two other women came forward in the criminal case with similar allegations. In 2022, Gooding pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching against one of the women, avoiding jail time. As part of the deal, he admitted to subjecting the other women to nonconsensual physical contact.
There have also been a number of civil lawsuits. In 2020, Gooding was sued by a Jane Doe who accused him of raping her twice in a New York City hotel room in 2013. Just as the case was to go to trial, in June 2023, Gooding reached a last-minute settlement with the accuser.
In November 2023, before the New York’s Adult Survivors Act expired, Gooding was hit with two sexual assault civil lawsuits filed by two of the victims in his criminal case. Kelsey Harbert claimed Gooding grabbed her breast at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in 2018. The other plaintiff is Jasmine Abbay, a waitress at LAVO restaurant and nightclub, said Gooding forced his tongue into her mouth without her consent when she brought drinks to his table.
In March 2024, Jones named Gooding as a defendant in a civil lawsuit, alleging that the actor sexually harassed and assaulted him while on Sean “Diddy” Combs’s yacht.
What is Gooding’s new film about?
Gooding plays a drug dealer-turned-Christian in The Firing Squad, which is based on a true story about three men facing execution and how their faith helped them on that journey.
“I read [the script] and I wept and wept and wept at the end of it,” Gooding said in an interview on Christian Broadcasting Network’s The 700 Club. “It unlocked, again, a faith I have in God and the walk that I have with him.”
Gooding talked about how the film — co-starring Kevin Sorbo and James Barrington — shows that God is with people in the worst of times, “He is not going anywhere. … Even in the darkest moment, even in the afterlife, He’s there for you … no matter what you’re going through.”
Timothy Chey, the writer and director of the film, out Aug. 2, said in the same interview that Gooding, whom he previously directed in the 2014 film Freedom, “is a changed man in Christ. He and I prayed the other day, and I really felt the Holy Spirit in his fervent prayer.”
The outlet reported that Gooding’s commitment to his faith was on display at the film’s premiere. He led an “altar call,” when worshipers come forward to express their commitment to their faith.
Since Gooding’s legal problems began to unfurl, he’s appeared in the films Life in a Year (2020) and The Weapon (2023). The Firing Squad is one of three films he has out this year, previously including Skeletons in the Closet co-starring Terrence Howard and Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace with Denise Richards.