Roberto Orci, best known for his work on the Star Trek and Transformers franchises, has been accused of sexual assault by his wife.
Roberto Orci, the screenwriter known for his work on Star Trek and Transformers, has been accused of physical abuse and sexual assault by his wife, Adele Heather Taylor.
Taylor filed a lawsuit against Orci on Monday, alleging that the screenwriter would fly into violent rages, call her a “slut,” a “whore,” and would drag her around the house. She also alleges that Orci once pinned her down on the ground in their garden and threatened to rape her. She adds that he followed through on his threat the following month, telling her, “You enjoy being raped.“
The lawsuit is in response to a suit Orci filed against Taylor in June, accusing her of domestic abuse. He alleges that she pepper-sprayed him and even shot him with a taser. Orci actually called the cops on Taylor in April 2020 and had her arrested for domestic abuse, later bailing her out, but Taylor’s suit claims that this was an attempt to undermine her credibility as she tried to fight him off. She finally left Orci after another assault in December 2022 and has an audio recording of him allegedly threatening her and bragging that the cops wouldn’t believe her due to her previous arrest. “You got nothing on me, babe,” Orci allegedly said in the recording. “I can do whatever the f**k I want.“
Orci’s lawyer, Daniel Paluch, has furiously disputed the allegations. “My client denies the allegations and is looking forward to litigating the case in the appropriate forum, which is the court,” Paluch said.
Taylor is seeking $17 million in damages, with $10 million for the assault/battery claims and $7 million for a broken promise to split up assets in the event of their separation. Orci admitted in his suit that he has struggled with alcoholism for years, even being hospitalized for related conditions and undertaking multiple trips to rehab. Taylor’s suit states that the pair had agreed to put their assets into a family trust, which was supposed to be split 50/50, but Orci claims that she took advantage of his condition and manipulated him into supporting her financially.