Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s The Rip director Joe Carnahan, has been accused of sexual battery and stalking by an ex-girlfriend.
In legal documents obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, January 30, Michelle Crosby, 45, claimed Carnahan, 56, physically attacked her several times over their four-year relationship. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.
Carnahan, for his part, reportedly made his own allegations against Crosby in a previous lawsuit, accusing her of damaging a Porsche he allowed her to borrow and refusing to return the vehicle, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Per the outlet, he also claimed Crosby harassed him, including via physical assault.
Crosby made her allegations against Carnahan in a cross-complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as she responded to the lawsuit.
The legal filing detailed an alleged incident in a hotel room in 2024 that “turned violent.”
“What began as consensual intimacy turned violent when Carnahan suddenly yanked her hair as she screamed for him to stop. He refused, remarking, ‘If you think you can do this to me, I will break you of that misunderstand.’ Afterward he callously laughed and said, ‘I guess you won’t be attending any parties without hair.’” the legal documents read.
The documents continued to allege: “When he was finished, he hastily packed and left the room. Ms. Crosby reported the assault to the Riverside Sheriff’s Department. She sustained permanent scalp damage and bald patches, compounded by stress-related hair loss, forcing her to wear a wig. Shortly afterward, Carnahan emailed her as though nothing had happened, asking for a list of her ‘needs’ and attaching a copy of the script RIP.”
Joe Carnahan. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage)
Crosby further accused Carnahan of subjecting her to a “pattern of physical violence” which she claimed in the legal filing included “shoving her into a Christmas tree, pinning her under his body, grabbing her throat and tackling her to the ground.”
“This was monstrous behavior by a Hollywood director that should not be left unchallenged,” Crosby said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “These grave matters demand accountability.”
Carnahan has strongly denied the accusations of assault leveled against him.
“This was a completely consensual relationship which ended in Spring 2024 and since then the other party has consistently threatened Joe with exactly what you’re reading now – the threat to attack Joe publicly when his film was released,” Carnahan’s lawyer Wendy Slavkin said via a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “The allegations against Joe were dismissed in July of 2025 and he has not had any contact with the defendant outside of a courtroom last May, while trying to obtain a permanent restraining order against her.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Carnahan’s representatives for comment.
Carnahan recently directed Damon and Affleck’s latest film The Rip, which garnered 41.6 million views in its first three days after dropping on Netflix in January. Crosby filed her cross-complaint prior to the press tour.
The movie, inspired by a 2016 Miami-Dade narcotics raid, follows a team of Miami narcotics officers who unexpectedly find millions in cash who then try to decide whether to keep the large amount of money or not.
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