BBC Documentary: Four Women Accuse Jared Leto of Sexual Misconduct
A new BBC documentary, Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, features ten women who have gone public for the first time with accusations against actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars singer Jared Leto. Four of them allege sexual misconduct occurring between 2002 and 2016, when they were teenagers. According to Far Out Magazine, Leto has not responded to the allegations put to him by the BBC. The documentary is currently streaming on BBC iPlayer.
What the documentary alleges
One woman says she was sexually assaulted in a bathroom at age 17. Another says that at 19 she was alone with Leto in a hotel room where he threatened her with sexual assault. A third alleges she had sex with Leto in California at age 17, below the state's age of consent of 18 — which could constitute statutory rape — and says Leto "shrugged off" the subject when it was raised.
Another woman alleges Leto used his celebrity status to groom her starting at age 16, calling her repeatedly and proposing sex at least once; she later refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Four additional women say they had what they describe as unusual phone conversations with Leto. Another woman alleges that at 14, during a meet-and-greet at a music festival, Leto made offensive remarks to her, then had security take her backstage, where he repeated the comments when confronted.
Earlier reporting and prior allegations
Last year, nine women came forward alleging Leto engaged in "predatory" behavior toward them as teenagers, in a report by Air Mail detailing their individual encounters with him. One recalled being approached by Leto outside a coffee shop in Los Angeles at age 16, while he was with actress Ashley Olsen; after getting her number, she says he contacted her frequently and repeatedly steered conversations toward sex.
Model Laura La Rue has also publicly alleged that she met Leto when she was 16 and he was 36, and that their conversations were often inappropriate. At the time, Leto's representatives denied all allegations, calling them "demonstrably false."
Support resources
- UK: Rape Crisis charity website
- US: RAINN