Terry Crews Won’t Shame Clients Of Agent Who Allegedly Assaulted Him For Remaining Silent
Terry Crews has said that he doesn’t blame the clients of the agent who allegedly assaulted him for keeping quiet about it.
“I respect and understand why many of Adam Venit’s @WME clients remain silent, just like many victims do. There is so much to lose. I will not be shamed— but I also will not shame anyone else,” he wrote on Twitter Saturday.
“This movement needs leaders, not martyrs,” he added.
In October, at the height of the drama around the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault allegations, Terry Crews claimed that he was groped by a Hollywood executive at a party. As People Magazine reports, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor said that the incident happened in 2016.
“Jumping back I said What are you doing?! My wife saw everything n we looked at him like he was crazy. He just grinned like a jerk,” Crews tweeted. “I was going to kick his a– right then— but I thought twice about how the whole thing would appear.”
The actor said that he did not retaliate at the moment because he feared that he would have ended up in jail. Instead he and his wife left the party.
Crews said that the next day, he told everyone he knew about the incident.
I respect and understand why many of Adam Venit’s @WME clients remain silent, just like many victims do. There is so much to lose. I will not be shamed— but I also will not shame anyone else.
This movement needs leaders, not martyrs https://t.co/h5zejFemlS
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) December 2, 2017
The former football player also said that the man who allegedly assaulted him called him the next day to apologize. But he did not explain why the incident happened in the first place.
Crews said that he never spoke about it or pursued charges because he feared that the backlash would hurt his career. He added that this gave him some insight into how the women making accusations against powerful Hollywood men feel.
Terry Crews opens up about his experience with sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. This is why telling these stories is important. pic.twitter.com/Dv2UCwUDLD
— Katie Barnes (@katie_barnes3) October 10, 2017
As the Washington Post reports, Crews also named the alleged assailant as Adam Venit, an influential agent who has represented Emma Stone, Eddie Murphy, and Adam Sandler.
Terry Crews reveals the text he sent to his agent after he was groped https://t.co/SYDRW2dH0v pic.twitter.com/s4tfPYNygj
— HuffPost BlackVoices (@blackvoices) December 2, 2017
Coincidentally, two of his clients, Dustin Hoffman and Brett Ratner, were also accused of sexual assault recently.
Venit was suspended by his employer, William Morris Endeavor, but according to Deadline he has since been reinstated. Crews tweeted that “Somebody got a pass” after the news of Venit’s return broke.
The list of high-powered men who have been accused of sexual assault/harassment this year continues to grow, indicating a problem endemic to Hollywood and the wider society. So far the list includes Senator Al Franken, Russell Simmons, Matt Lauer, Brett Ratner, Dustin Hoffman, Louis C.K., Charlie Rose, Ed Westwick, George Takei, Kevin Spacey, John Lasseter, Nick Carter, Steven Seagal, Jeffrey Tambor, and Geraldo Rivera among others.
