The Hollywood actor Ashley Judd has filed a defamation and sexual harassment lawsuit against the film producer Harvey Weinstein, alleging that he damaged her career after she refused his sexual advances.

The civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles superior court in Santa Monica on Monday, accuses Weinstein of causing Judd to lose a part in The Lord of the Rings in 1998 by making “baseless smears” against her.

The lawsuit alleges Weinstein “was retaliating against Ms Judd for rejecting his sexual demands approximately one year earlier, when he cornered her in a hotel room under the guise of discussing business”.

It added: “Weinstein used his power in the entertainment industry to damage Ms Judd’s reputation and limit her ability to find work.”

“Mr. Weinstein’s abusive conduct toward others has caused no end of damage to aspiring actors and others in the film and entertainment industry,” said Judd in a statement. “As my experience and the experience of others shows, even a few false statements from Mr. Weinstein could destroy potentially career-changing professional opportunities. It’s time that Mr. Weinstein be held accountable for that conduct and for the ways in which he’s damaged careers.”

A representative for Weinstein issued a statement hours later saying the former studio boss had “neither defamed Ms Judd nor ever interfered with Ms Judd’s career”.

Instead, the statement said, Weinstein championed Judd’s work and repeatedly approved her casting for two of his movies - Frida in 2002, starring Salma Hayek, and Crossing Over with Harrison Ford in 2009. It also said he had fought for Ms Judd as his first choice for a lead role in Good Will Hunting.

The statement did not address Judd’s allegations that she was sexually harassed by Weinstein.

Judd was one of the first women, in October 2017, to make an on-the-record allegation of sexual misconduct against Weinstein, which soon afterwards evolved into the #MeToo social media movement against sexual harassment and assault. The Oscar-winning producer has since been accused of sexual impropriety by more than 70 women and is currently the subject of investigations by police in New York, Los Angeles and London.

Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex made against him.

Judd, a leading member of the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment in the workplace, is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.

The actor confirmed to the New York Times and on Twitter that any financial compensation from the lawsuit would be donated to Time’s Up “so that women and men in all professions may have legal redress for sexual harassment, economic retaliation and damage to their careers”.

The lawsuit comes as a number of other Hollywood figures, including Quentin Tarantino, Jennifer Lawrence and Brad Pitt, filed court papers objecting to a sale of Weinstein Company assets. The company is currently taking bids for its assets, including its film library, and completed upcoming projects, ahead of a possible sale, but the stars claim that they are owed royalties from past productions, and that they should be honoured before any sale is made.

Meanwhile, footage from a documentary about Weinstein, Citizen Harvey, is set to screen to interested buyers at the Cannes film festival. A feature film about the reporting which brought about the mogul’s downfall is also in production.