Washington: Comedian-actor Andy Dick pleaded not guilty in court after being accused of groping a driver from a ride-hailing service last year.
The 53-year-old star was arraigned in court on Friday for one misdemeanor count of sexual battery from an incident that took place in April 2018, reported People.
Andy would be facing up to 180 days in jail if convicted. The driver who accused the comedian claimed that the star had reached over and grabbed his genitals during a ride using the rideshare service, according to TMZ.
Andy’s attorney Daniel Kapelovitz denied all the allegations levelled against his client in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying the “allegations against Andy Dick are completely baseless.”
“It was our understanding that the District Attorney realized that this case had no merit, and that is why the case was never filed. Then, more than a year later, we learn from TMZ that there was an outstanding warrant based on a misdemeanor complaint that was filed just prior to the statute of limitations running out,” Kapelovitz said.
He added, “If this case is not dismissed outright, we look forward to defending against these false accusations.”
Andy has previously also faced accusations of sexual misconduct. In June 2018, he was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor simple battery after he allegedly groped a woman passing by on the streets of Los Angeles. The comedian pleaded no contest and avoided jail time.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter in October 2017 that the actor allegedly groped, kissed and licked people’s cheeks, as well as made sexual proposals, involving at least four people on the production of the independent feature ‘Raising Buchanan’.
The Hollywood Reporter also revealed that Andy had been fired from ‘Vampire Dad’ after facing similar accusations.
Andy responded to the outlet over the ‘Raising Buchanan’ accusations, denying the groping allegations. However, he confirmed that he did lick people.
“I didn’t grope anybody. I might have kissed somebody on the cheek to say goodbye and then licked them. That’s my thing. I licked Carrie Fisher at a roast. It’s me being funny. I’m not trying to sexually harass people. I didn’t grab anybody’s genitals,” he claimed.
He also told the outlet that he propositioned people on set.
“Of course I’m going to proposition people. I’m single, depressed, lonely and trying to get a date. They can just say no, and they probably did and then I was done,” Andy said.
The actor has run into trouble for similar incidents in the past years. In 2007, Dick was dragged off the set of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ by the host himself, after constantly touching Ivanka Trump, who appeared as a guest on the show the same night as Andy.
The actor also has a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He has been to rehab more than a dozen times.