Terry Crews Says That Expendables 4 Producer Tried to Pressure Him Into Dropping His Sexual Assault Suit
Terry Crews recently posted on Twitter alleging that the producer of Expendables 4, a forthcoming installment in the Expendables action franchise in which Crews plays Hale Caesar, recently tried to pressure him into dropping his sexual assault suit against agent Adam Venit and William Morris Endeavor (WME). According to Crews’ tweet, producer Avi Lerner called Crews’ management and said they could avoid “problems” on the upcoming film if he were to give up the suit.
Management got a call last week from Avi Lerner producer of EXPENDABLES 4 saying I could avoid any “problems” on the sequel if I dropped my case against @WME.
Guess who’s Sly’s agent?
ADAM VENIT— terrycrews (@terrycrews) February 3, 2018
The “Sly” in Crews’ tweet is most likely Sylvester Stallone, one of the headliners in the Expendables franchise who is represented by Adam Venit.
Crews is suing Venit and WME in relation to an alleged groping incident, which he described first on Twitter and then on Good Morning America. Crews alleges that he was at a Hollywood function with his wife when Venit began sticking his tongue out at Crews in “overtly sexual” ways and then grabbed his crotch. “I stick my hand out,” Crews said, “and he literally takes his hand and puts it, squeezes my genitals. And I jump back like, ‘Hey, hey!’ … I go, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ … I have never felt more emasculated. More objectified. I was horrified.”
After Crews’ allegations came out, WME suspended Venit without pay for one month before allowing him back to work. According to WME sources who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, the agency “investigat[ed] to determine if it was an isolated event or indicative of a pattern” and “found the former to be the case.” When Venit returned to work, Crews tweeted “someone got a pass” with a link to the story.
SOMEONE GOT A PASS https://t.co/yLPwpWGtT8
— terrycrews (@terrycrews) November 27, 2017
As more and more people have come forward with stories of past intimidation and coercion, Crews’ allegations suggest that he’s experiencing it in real-time. BET even published an article back in December, asking where the support for Crews has been. “Exposure is only a first step,” they wrote. “It is only effective if we’re willing to listen and respond.”
(Via Jezebel; image: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com)
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