Terry Crews opens up about his alleged sexual assault: 'I've never felt more emasculated, more objectified'
ABC
- Terry Crews discussed his alleged sexual assault by William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit on "Good Morning America."
- Crews wrote a series of tweets detailing the alleged assault after the Weinstein allegations broke last month.
- Crews said that he had "PTSD" when the allegations against Weinstein came out.
On "Good Morning America" Wednesday, actor Terry Crews went into detail about his allegation of being sexual assaulted by William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit.
In his interview with Michael Strahan, Crews said the assault took place at a private party in February 2016, where he met Venit for the first time. According to Crews, Venit was staring at Crews during the party and "sticking his tongue out" at him in an "overtly sexual" manner. At first, the actor said he thought it was just a joke, because Venit's behavior was so "bizarre."
Crews then said he put out his hand to shake Venit's hand, at which time Venit grabbed his genitals.
"He literally takes his hand, and puts it - and he squeezes my genitals, and I jumped back," Crews said.
Venit continued to stick his tongue out, and attempted to grab the actor once more, but this time, according to Crews, he pushed him away, and Venit giggled at him.
"I've never felt more emasculated, more objectified. I was horrified," Crews said.
Crews said he then asked Adam Sandler (one of Venit's clients at the time) what was going on with his agent, and said Sandler also seemed to be confused by his behavior.
Crews said he resisted the urge to get into a violent altercation with Venit because he didn't want to get pegged as a "thug," or worse, get himself arrested.
"I put it in the back of my head, and I understood why women everywhere had to let it go," Crews said.
When the Weinstein allegations broke, Crews said he felt like he had "PTSD," and recognized he had also experienced sexual assault. Empowered by the women coming forward with allegations against Weinstein, he decided it was the right time to share his own experience.
"I will not be shamed," Crews said.
The fallout
Before appearing on GMA, Crews wrote a series of tweets last month in which he said that a "high-level Hollywood executive" had sexually assaulted him. And last week, Crews filed a report with the LAPD alleging that Venit was that man, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Hollywood Reporter also wrote that Venit would be taking a leave of absence from his post at WME on November 3. However, in a THR report published Wednesday, sources told the publication that Venit would be returning to his post at WME, where he represents A-List clients like Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Kevin James, Steve Martin, and Diane Keaton.
Crews has since dropped WME as his agency.
You can watch the full interview here:
Venit did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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