TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: With a barrage of accusations and counter-accusations, Tiger Woods' bitter court battle with his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman is swiftly evolving into 2023's version of Johnny Depp v Amber Heard. The 47-year-old legendary golfer has been under scrutiny since his ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual harassment and allegedly forcing her to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to keep her job.
In her recent court filings, the 39-year-old Herman countered Woods’ previous claims and claimed he sexually harassed her on numerous occasions, according to Toronto Sun. Herman asserted that the golfer pursued a sexual relationship with her when she was working at his Florida restaurant and then forced her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. "Tiger Woods, the internationally renowned athlete and one of the most powerful figures in global sports, decided to pursue a sexual relationship with his employee, then – according to him – forced her to sign an NDA about it or else be fired from her job," Herman's attorney, Benjamin Hodas, wrote in the filing, according to People.
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When did Tiger Woods and Erica Herman start dating?
Herman started working at Woods' restaurant The Woods Jupiter in 2014, originally to aid with its development and launch. After the restaurant opened, she took on the role of director of operations. A year later, the two started dating and Herman moved into Woods' house in Jupiter in 2017 when she allegedly signed the NDA that he handed to her, according to the golfers' March court filing. However, Herman argues that as time went on, Woods "placed increasing pressure" on her to quit her job at the restaurant and "devote herself full-time" to becoming his girlfriend and taking care of him and his children.
'Jilted ex-girlfriend'
The couple called it quits in 2022 when Herman filed a $30 million lawsuit alleging that Woods used “trickery” to kick her out of his home after their split. "He told her to pack for another weekend away in the Bahamas, but instead of going together to an airport gate, he dropped her off and instructed her to talk to his lawyer, who was waiting with another NDA,” the court filing stated. Elsewhere in the lawsuit, Herman claimed that Woods’ alleged actions violated their “oral tenancy agreement” which gave her “the right to live” in the athlete’s Hobe Sound, Florida, home for “a certain duration of time,” according to US Weekly.
Herman also submitted additional documents in March 2023 to challenge a non-disclosure agreement that Woods had her sign before the two started dating. In response to the lawsuit, Woods refuted all her allegations and noted that Herman is not a victim of sexual assault. He said, "Rather, Herman is a 'jilted ex-girlfriend' who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court, rather than honor her commitment to arbitrate disputes in a confidential arbitration proceeding," the New York Post reported.
What happened between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp?
Woods and Herman’s legal battle comes just a year after the much-publicized Depp vs Heard case, which was centered on allegations of defamation that were made by both the actress and her 59-year-old former husband. The case began in March 2019 when the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' actor sued Heard for $50M for defaming him in a December 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which she detailed being abused by an unnamed partner.
Heard then countersued Depp for $100M the following year. After a long trial, it was found that the 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ actor had been defamed by his ex, and a single comment made against Heard by his former lawyer Adam Waldman had also been defamatory. Heard was eventually ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35M, while he was ordered to pay her $2M for his lawyer's defamatory statement.