Cuba Gooding Jr charged over nightclub ‘grope’

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr has been charged with forcible touching after allegedly groping a woman in a Manhattan bar.

The 51-year-old star of Boyz N The Hood and Jerry Maguire turned himself into New York police on Thursday and was later taken to court in handcuffs.

He is accused of grabbing a woman’s breast during a night out last weekend.

His lawyer told reporters he had “not acted inappropriately in any shape or form” and that a video existed that would see him “totally exonerated”.

“He did absolutely nothing wrong,” said Mark J Heller. “I frankly am shocked and horrified that this case is being prosecuted.”

Footage obtained by celebrity website TMZ of the night in question shows Gooding Jr with girlfriend Claudine De Niro and a woman identified as his accuser.

The actor seems to touch the woman’s leg and hold her hand in scenes the website says are “open to interpretation”.

Gooding Jr pleaded not guilty to forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree on Thursday and was released without bail.

The Oscar-winning actor, who recently appeared in TV series The People vs OJ Simpson and in a West End production of Chicago, is due back in court on 26 June.