‘Star Trek’ Screenwriter Roberto Orci Accused of Beating, Sexually Assaulting Wife in Lawsuit

Roberto Orci, a screenwriter for several Star Trek and Transformers films as well as Hawaii Five-0, has been accused of beating and sexually assaulting his wife, actress Adele Heather Taylor.

In a countersuit filed Monday, Taylor claims she has been the “target of [Orci’s] violent conduct” on multiple occasions dating back to March 2018. She accuses Orci of “abusive behavior” that included sexual assault, beating her until she was bruised and belittling her with insults.

In one instance in May 2022, Taylor alleges that Orci chased her around their Los Angeles home before pinning her on the ground and threatening to rape her. The following month, he allegedly assaulted her a second time, while telling her, “You enjoy being raped.”

Taylor also says in the complaint that she was arrested for domestic abuse in April 2020 after Orci called law enforcement when she tried to fight him off after he attacked her. Orci later bailed her out and admitted on tape that the arrest was “intended to destroy Adele’s credibility and dissuade her from reporting his ongoing abuse to the authorities,” the lawsuit states.

In December 2022, Taylor left Orci after she was again assaulted, according to the complaint. During the incident, she recorded some of Orci’s threats while he allegedly tried to shove her out of their house’s front door. “I want you out right now or I’ll throw you out the fucking door,” he said in the recording, according to the suit. “I’ll beat the shit out of you right now just to make you compliant enough to get you thrown out the front door.”

Following that last incident, Orci filed a restraining order against Taylor “before she had ample opportunity to seek protection from the court,” the complaint stated.

Orci’s attorney, Daniel Paluch, disputed the allegations in an email to THR: “My client denies the allegations and is looking forward to litigating the case in the appropriate forum, which is the court.”

Taylor states in her suit that she wants to hold Orci accountable for his years of abuse and for breaching his “contractual obligation to split his assets with her and support her financially for the rest of her life.”

Her countersuit comes after Orci in June filed a lawsuit accusing Taylor of “repeatedly and viciously” beating him over several years. In the suit, Orci detailed multiple instances of alleged abuse, including Taylor shooting him with a taser, pepper-spraying him, strangling him and throwing glass, among other accusations. He also accused Taylor of manipulating and forcing him to give her property, money and control of his finances.

In Orci’s complaint, he acknowledged his struggles with alcohol and addiction, stating he had undergone treatment and rehab on multiple occasions.

Taylor’s attorney didn’t offer any additional statements following a request from THR.