Kevin Costner Named in Sex Act

By: Shannon Gossage

Costner’s name was released hours after the masseuse who accused him of masturbating in front of her won an "out-of-court" settlement. The woman was fired after she claimed Costner had sexually harassed her in October 2004. She sued the hotel bosses claiming that she was "unfairly dismissed" after she complained about the incident. Yesterday prior to her tribunal hearing she was offered and accepted an out-of-court settlement of an undisclosed amount.

The woman, who remains anonymous, claims that Costner exposed himself during a massage at The Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland while on his honeymoon with his new wife Christine. The masseuse said Costner "kept putting his hand underneath his towel" and then "grabbed her wrist forcefully, whipped off his towel and exposed himself." She also claims that the actor then performed a sex act. Said the woman, "Even though he was a Hollywood superstar I couldn’t believe he thought he could get away with something like that. He abused me and I considered that a criminal act."

When the story first broke a tribunal had prevented the identity of the celebrity from being revealed although many news sources, blogs, and Internet stories named Costner as the alleged offender. Tribunal chairman Nicol Hosie ruled yesterday that due to all of these other sources Costner’s name had already "fully entered the public domain" and the name suppression was lifted. Costner has denied the claims through Paul Bloch, his publicist, in the past but has yet to comment on the outcome of the settlement. Bloch said, "This is a dispute between an ex-employee and a hotel; this was never about Kevin Costner." Well, doesn’t it have something to do with him?