Actor Cuba Gooding Jr faces the start of a civil trial after being accused of raping a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago.
He says the encounter was consensual after the pair met at a nearby restaurant.
The trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday with jury selection in Manhattan federal court as the Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire star confronts allegations he met the woman in Manhattan, persuaded her to join him at a hotel and convinced her to stop at his room so he could change clothing.
The woman, who has proceeded anonymously but has been told she must reveal her name at trial, said in her lawsuit Gooding raped her in his room.
His lawyers, though, insist it was consensual sex and she bragged afterwards to others that she had sex with a celebrity.
The lawsuit seeks six million dollars (£4.8 million) in damages.
It was filed against a man who authorities say has been accused of committing sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, unwanted kissing and other inappropriate behaviour.
Late last week, Judge Paul Crotty ruled that he will let three women give evidence to say they were also subjected to sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults after meeting Gooding in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs and restaurants.
One of the women planning to give evidence at the trial is Kelsey Harbert, who told police Gooding fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square in 2019.
Ms Harbert said last year after Gooding pleaded guilty in New York state court to a charge that spared him from jail or a criminal history that never getting her day in court was “more disappointing than words can say”.
Gooding, a star in films including Boyz N The Hood and Radio, was allowed to plead guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanour, admitting he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018.
By staying out of trouble and completing six months of alcohol and behavioural counselling, Gooding was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and plead guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation, eliminating his criminal record and preventing further penalties.
