Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Seth Meyers Witnessed Horatio Sanz Grope Jane Doe, New Filing Alleges

CW: this post discusses allegations of grooming and child sex abuse.

Earlier this evening Jane Doe, of Jane Doe v. Horatio Sanz, SNL, and NBC, filed an affidavit in support of her response to the defense's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. It contains the most detail we've heard from her to date, in her own words. Among other things, the affidavit alleges that Jimmy Fallon asked for her phone number at an SNL after party, and that Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch, Will Ferrell, Seth Meyers, and Maya Rudolph witnessed Sanz grope her at an after-after party.

You can read the full affidavit here. Some interesting passages are below; I've inserted paragraph breaks into the longer paragraphs for your ease and convenience. To state the obvious, these are all unproven allegations. Still, it is worth remembering that SNL after-after parties in this era loomed large in the memories of those who attended them. And it is worth noting the level of detail with which Jane Doe recalls the events in question.

I cannot warn you enough: some of the following is incredibly graphic.

As outlined in my complaint at paragraphs 29-31 [,,,] on or around May 19, 2001, when I was still 16 years old, I was permitted entry to the Saturday Night Live season finale parties by NBC employees [Rachel] Dratch and Chris Parnell, respectively. The first party in NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza was open bar, and I drank beer. At the second party, in the SNL offices, I sat with several NBC pages who questioned me about where I attended school, and I told them I was sixteen (16) years old.

Later that morning, I saw Sanz telling stories to a group of 6-10 people in the SNI offices including people who identified themselves as NBC employees. He greeted me with, "Hey [Jane], you bitch." He signaled me over to him, took my hand and guided me by my hand and waist to sit on his lap with my legs between his legs and with his arm around my hips. I sat on his lap for the rest of the conversation, during which he acted very intimate, placing his hand/arm on my hips and buttocks in view of everyone present.

[...] on or around the morning of November 17, 2001, when I was 16 years old, Sanz, admitted me to SNL after parties by putting my name on the guest list. At the party, I sat in a VIP area with Fallon, his manager and two fashion designers. We discussed that I was a high school student studying for my SAT exam. Fallon said, "So you have a few years before you graduate." I drank Budweiser beer and we shared calamari. I also discussed the SAT's and drank with Will Ferrell's friend in view of Will Ferrell, both of whom were seated at the table next to ours.

While sitting with Jimmy Fallon, he told me that he met a "girl" on my website's message board. He asked me for my phone number, but I didn't have a pen. Fallon then brought me over to the booth of NBC employee/SNL Producer Lorne Michaels, who was sitting with two other middle-aged men in business suits. Fallon introduced us. I blurted out, "Do any of you guys have a pen?" They said no. I felt awkward, so I said, "I wouldn't normally ask you guys for a pen, but Jimmy Fallon just asked me for my phone number." Michaels indicated he did not have one. We discussed my website. Michaels said that he looked at it, "when I want to know where Jimmy is." During this time period, my website regularly announced SNI hosts and musical guests to the internet, which was information that Sanz would leak to me over AOL Instant Messenger in chats he used to groom me. Michaels gave me advice about taking writing classes. I ended up writing my phone number in sparkling lip gloss from Claire's Boutique and handing it to Jimmy Fallon on a folded up napkin.

[...]on or about May 11-12, 2002, when I was 17 years old, I attended two SNL after parties. The first party was held at Ristorante Barolo. There, I sat at a VIP table and ordered from a special "SNL Menu", including ordering and drinking Amstel Light beer. Sanz openly had his arm around me for a long time while we talked with other guests and NBC employees/SNL cast members (including Fallon and Morgan). When Sanz and I were drinking together, with Sanz's arm intimately around me, Fallon saw us together, put his arms around us and said "Aww, you guys.”

That morning, Sanz and I, along with approximately 4-5 other people, rode in a limousine that I believe was paid for by NBC and operated by what I believed to be an NBC employee. We drank Coors Light in the limousine which some of us drank out of champagne glasses. The second party occurred at a party loft in Lower Manhattan. Scantily-clad women walked around at the party serving drinks. I later learned that they were sex workers.

At the party, Sanz and I were seated on a couch located in the middle of the room facing the entrance. Both at these parties and afterwards, Sanz kissed me, groped my breasts and buttocks and digitally penetrated my genitals. At one point, as we both faced the entranceway, he lifted my breasts out of my shirt from behind, so that the only thing covering them was his hands. He paused as though he was going to expose them, then put them back inside my shirt. Upon later learning that sex workers performed at this party, in hindsight I suspect Sanz did that for the benefit of cast and crew. He was also rubbing my vagina over top of my clothes.

I looked up and noticed that many members of the 2002 SNL cast, including Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Will Ferrell and Maya Rudolph, stood in the entranceway commenting to one another as they observed Sanz groping me. I distinctly remember that Gasteyer made direct eye contact with me as Sanz was groping me. Gasteyer's jaw dropped, her arms shook and she became visibly startled. Next to Gasteyer, I saw Fey and Dratch looking at us and laughing. When I looked at Fey and Dratch, who were excitedly giggling and talking with their hands over their mouths while looking directly at me and Sanz, they were startled and positioned themselves behind other people. Dratch later, in her 2012 memoir, called that party "the most memorable after-after party.”

Seth Meyers and Maya Rudolph stood on the other side of Gasteyer, also directly in front of us, facing us, and Rudolph looked grossed out. Will Ferrell stood on the side of the entranceway, towards the back, glancing over at us and talking to someone. To the best of my knowledge, several other cast members were present. I was horrified to realize that I was on display for most of the SNL, cast to see, and I expressed my discomfort to Sanz. He dismissed my shock and embarrassment, telling me to keep going with him despite everyone gawking at us. I made repeated comments that I wanted to leave. I was obviously uncomfortable with the situation.

Eventually, two people approached us, one or both of whom I believed to be NBC employee(s). One of them said to Sanz: "Are you fucking serious?'. Sanz continued to sexually assault me.

Again, you can read the full affidavit here. For additional reading, you can find the Daily Beast's February interview with Jane Doe here, and some of my other writing about the lawsuit here, here and here.

Header image via YouTube/erbigfan2003.