Trina Venit’s lawsuit against her ex-husband, former William Morris Endeavor motion picture chief Adam Venit, was filed in federal court on June 26, 2022, and accused him of years of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, false imprisonment, and defamation over their roughly 20-year marriage.1The Hollywood Reporter. Former WME Agent Adam Venit Sued for Assault Domestic Violence by Ex-Wife A federal judge dismissed the case six months later on jurisdictional grounds, and her attorneys said she would refile in state court.2Los Angeles Times. Adam Venit Has Wife’s Lawsuit Against Him Alleging Domestic Violence Dismissed
What the Complaint Alleged
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 2:22-cv-04362. It brought claims for sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, and defamation.1The Hollywood Reporter. Former WME Agent Adam Venit Sued for Assault Domestic Violence by Ex-Wife
According to the complaint, Adam Venit “strangled, punched, kicked, drugged and sexually assaulted” Trina during their marriage, leaving her “bloodied, bruised and physically and emotionally scarred.”3Variety. Adam Venit Sued Assault The filing said his drug, steroid, and alcohol use “spiraled out of control” and described him as a “dangerous gun nut.”1The Hollywood Reporter. Former WME Agent Adam Venit Sued for Assault Domestic Violence by Ex-Wife The weapon claim tracks a documented event during the divorce: after Trina obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order in March 2021, LAPD officers on April 17, 2021 confiscated at least eight firearms and a large quantity of ammunition from the couple’s former residence.4Los Angeles Times. Adam Venit WME Hollywood Agent Lawsuit Trina Venit
Adam Venit’s attorneys sought dismissal and called the domestic violence allegations “entirely fabricated,” arguing the dispute belonged in family court alongside the couple’s pending divorce.4Los Angeles Times. Adam Venit WME Hollywood Agent Lawsuit Trina Venit
The 2019 False Arrest Claim
One of the most detailed allegations in the complaint was that Adam Venit engineered Trina’s arrest in 2019 to buy himself time to destroy evidence of abuse. During a heated argument, the complaint said, he chased her around the house looking for her phone, then threatened to call the police and accuse her of domestic violence. Just before officers arrived, according to the filing, he “threw himself down in the hopes of manufacturing an injury to support his concocted abuse claim.”5Deadline. Trina Venit v. Adam Venit Complaint
Officers accepted his account, the complaint said, and arrested Trina for domestic violence. She was released the following morning. When she returned home, according to the filing, she found photos and text messages had been cleared from her phone and computer. The complaint stated that Adam later admitted, both orally and in writing, that “he had concocted this plan to get her out of the house so he could find and destroy evidence of his abuse from her phone and computer.”5Deadline. Trina Venit v. Adam Venit Complaint
The Apology Letter
In September 2022, Trina’s attorneys filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss and attached a letter Adam had written to her in January 2019. In it, he called having her arrested “one of the two greatest failures and regrets in my life,” writing: “We were arguing and it was heated, but I STUPIDLY involved our kids and made the mistake of running scared and doing the UNTHINKABLE of having you arrested.”4Los Angeles Times. Adam Venit WME Hollywood Agent Lawsuit Trina Venit
Her legal team argued the letter showed the arrest had not been prompted by any actual or threatened violence on her part.4Los Angeles Times. Adam Venit WME Hollywood Agent Lawsuit Trina Venit
How the Case Ended
In December 2022, U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin granted the motion to dismiss. He did not rule on whether Trina’s allegations were true. Instead, he declined to exercise federal jurisdiction because the couple’s divorce was already pending in California state court.2Los Angeles Times. Adam Venit Has Wife’s Lawsuit Against Him Alleging Domestic Violence Dismissed
Trina’s attorneys said after the dismissal that she planned to refile in state court. As of April 2023, attorney Devin McRae of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer and McRae was recognized in Variety’s Legal Impact Report for his continuing representation of Trina Venit in what was described as a “domestic violence and coercive control suit” against Adam Venit.1The Hollywood Reporter. Former WME Agent Adam Venit Sued for Assault Domestic Violence by Ex-Wife No public resolution of the state claims or the underlying divorce has been reported in the available record.
Why the Case Drew Attention
Adam Venit had led WME’s motion picture department after the 2009 merger of Endeavor and the William Morris Agency and represented clients including Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy, Michael B. Jordan, and M. Night Shyamalan.6Deadline. Adam Venit Retiring From WME He left WME in September 2018 as part of the settlement of a separate civil suit brought by actor Terry Crews, who had accused him of groping him at a 2016 party; the settlement required Venit’s resignation and barred WME from ever rehiring him.7Vanity Fair. Terry Crews Adam Venit WME Lawsuit Settlement Trina’s suit landed less than four years later and drew from the same period of his life.