Sept. 27, 2023

Hollywood’s Dark Side: Sexual Abuse Allegations Haunt Renowned Celebrities

The entertainment industry stands as a symbol of renown, allure and adulation showering upon charismatic actors and other prominent public figures who thrive in the dazzling spotlight. However, lurking beneath the glamorous facade of stardom lies a chilling and devastating issue – undercurrent series of sexual abuse allegations that levied against renowned male actors spanning many decades. By Wee Yan Ling.

R. Kelly

R. Kelly's lengthy career has been marred by a history of allegations and legal issues. In 1994, his secret marriage to a 15-year-old Aaliyah gained notoriety and ended in an annulment. He faced further accusations, including a lawsuit from Tiffany Hawkins, who alleged emotional distress from their relationship that began when she was 15. 

Legal troubles intensified in the early 2000s with child pornography charges in Chicago and accusations of producing explicit images in Florida, with some charges dropped. Recent years brought allegations of a disturbing sex "cult," as revealed in a Buzzfeed report.

In 2021, he was found guilty in a high-profile trial, followed by another conviction in 2022 for child sexual abuse. These legal battles culminated in a 20-year prison sentence handed down in 2023, underlining the intricate dynamics of fame, allegations, and legal responsibility in the music industry.

Percy Hynes White

Accusations of sexual assault were levied against Percy Hynes White, known for his role in Wednesday, via a series of tweets. The accusers alleged that White assaulted them and their friends, aged 17 to 20, as evidenced by incriminating screenshots of conversations where he allegedly attempted to manipulate them into sexual acts. 

Furthermore, two women asserted that White hosted parties with the intention of getting women intoxicated for sexual purposes. White refuted these allegations on his Instagram, labelling them as a "campaign of misinformation." Subsequently, Netflix opted to exclude him from the second season of the series, nine months after the accusations emerged.

Armie Hammer

Hammer was accused of sexual assault, manipulation and coercion by exes in 2021. All three of them, Paige Lorenze, Courtney Vucekovich and a model named Effie all claimed to have experienced his initial interest in BDSM before progressing indulging in more aggressive and degrading behaviour. Allegations also claimed that he described disturbing cannibalistic fantasies and expressed desires for women to be his “sex slaves.” 

Screenshots between Effie and Hammer were released in January 2021, before she held a press conference where she formerly accused Hammer of rape in March with her lawyer. Effie claimed Hammer “would often test my devotion to him, slyly removing and crossing my boundaries, as he became increasingly more violent. He abused me emotionally, mentally and physically.” 

Subsequently, he was fired from all film projects and despite his LAPD investigation, he was never charged criminally. In May 2021, Hammer entered rehab and is back living with his ex-wife and two kids. 

Ansel Elgort 

A twitter thread from 2020 from a woman, Gabby, claimed that she was assaulted by the actor back in 2014 when she was 17. 

“It was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn’t want to do it the only words that came out of his mouth were ‘we need to break you in,'” she wrote in a now-deleted tweet, via Deadline. The duo met after she DM’ed the star where he shared his Snapchat account and eventually asked her for nude images.

Elgort retorted Gabby’s claims and wrote in an already deleted Instagram post that it was an “entirely consensual relationship” and he has “never and would never assault anyone.” The allegations continue to haunt Elgort as he faced jeering during a screening in mid-December. 

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