A BBC documentary investigation has detailed allegations of criminal sexual conduct against Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto from four women who say the incidents occurred when they were teenagers.
The allegations include a reported sexual assault in a motel bathroom when one accuser was 17, a threat of sexual assault in a hotel room when another was 19, and what one woman characterizes as statutory rape when she was 17. A fourth woman describes receiving sexually explicit phone calls from Leto beginning when she was 16, which she says included suggestions that they engage in sexual activity. Additional women reported receiving similar phone calls from Leto or men they believe may have been Leto using assumed names.
The documentary also includes accounts from a woman who says that at age 14, Leto made a lewd comment about her chest during an autograph-signing at a music festival and directed security to bring her backstage without her consent. Two men who worked with Leto’s band for multiple years corroborated aspects of the women’s accounts, describing discomfort among staff regarding Leto’s interactions with teenage girls and his practice of inviting them backstage or to recording sessions.
According to the BBC, the alleged encounters took place between 2002 and 2016, when Leto was in his 30s and 40s. He is currently 54. The network states it corroborated several accounts through interviews with friends and family members who were told about the encounters at the time, and reviewed supporting materials including photographs and messages. One woman who received a non-disclosure agreement from Leto’s legal team declined to sign it.
Leto has not responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations. The investigation references more than 120 separate allegations made online concerning his behavior toward women. Similar allegations surfaced last year when a Los Angeles DJ posted on social media about an alleged assault, prompting additional women to come forward. A separate article by a US media outlet also documented nine women’s accounts of alleged sexual impropriety, which Leto denied.
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