Nuno Lopes is a prominent award-winning Portuguese actor and DJ who has expanded his career internationally in recent years by starring in projects such as Netflix’s White Lines. He’s been accused of drugging and raping American writer-director A.M. Lukas in 2006.
What are the allegations brought against White Lines actor Nuno Lopes by filmmaker A.M. Lukas?
Lukas filed a lawsuit against Lopes in New York on Monday, Nov. 20, just days before the end of the one-year window of the state’s Adult Survivor’s Act, which allows survivors to report crimes that have exceeded the statute of limitations.
The filmmaker is accusing the actor of drugging and raping them in the early morning of April 29, 2006, after meeting Lopes at a Tribeca Film Festival premiere party in Manhattan. The two were introduced by mutual friends and, sometime after exchanging greetings, Lukas started to feel “floaty,” the lawsuit claims. The document further states that Lukas had only consumed “a few glasses of white wine” when their body started to feel heavy and their memory fuzzy.
The “Hollidaysburg” director remembers the rest of the night in flashes. Among those are images of the Portuguese actor raping them, masturbating over their motionless body, and taking their clothes off as they tried to put them back on. Finally, around 7:30 AM, Lukas says Lopes gave them $30 to pay for a taxi, and his phone number.
The next day, Lukas claims to have received a disturbing voicemail “that sounded as though a man was masturbating and moaning while calling Lukas’s name into the phone.” They visited Long Island College Hospital, where a rape kit was collected, and allegedly called Lopes to ascertain whether or not he had used a condom. According to the court file, “Mr. Lopes confirmed that he had intercourse with Lukas and further confirmed that he had not used a condom for at least part of the encounter.”
Lukas recounts meeting Lopes for a coffee the following day, May 1, to talk about what had transpired, where the Portuguese actor told the American filmmaker they had willingly started to kiss him and initiated sex hours after passing out in his bathroom. That day, the White Lines performer denied sending the voice-mail, but Lukas claims he “appeared to stifle a gleeful expression” as he listened to the recording.
Has Nuno Lopes reacted to the allegations?
Yes. After news broke of the court filing, Lopes released a statement on his Instagram denying all allegations made by Lukas. “I am morally incapable of committing the acts I am accused of,” Lopes states, adding that he would never drug anyone or take advantage of anyone incapacitated by alcohol or any other substance. “Not today and not 17 years ago,” the statement continues.
Lopes claims to have the “utmost respect and solidarity” for victims and says his conscience is “absolutely clear” as he refuses to settle the case.