Terry Crews explains how going public with his allegation of sexual assault changed him as a businessman
Kevin Winter/Getty
- Terry Crews said it's a "good thing" he went public with his allegation that he was groped by a Hollywood executive because it showed him who his real friends were in Hollywood.
- The actor said if he had stayed quiet, "I would have gone for years thinking these people had my back."
Since the sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein broke in October, many others have spoken out in Hollywood about being sexually harassed or assaulted, sparking the #MeToo and Time's Up movements.
And though many of those who have spoken out are women, men have as well. The first prominent man in Hollywood to come forward was unexpected: Terry Crews.
"I found out who my friends really were through this thing," Crews told Business Insider in a recent interview while reflecting on his experience.
The 6'3", 245-pound former NFL player, who gained stardom for his memorable comedic work in movies like "White Chicks," "Idiocracy," and on Fox's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," said in a series of tweets last year that a Hollywood executive groped him at a party in 2016.
In subsequent interviews, Crews revealed that the exec was Adam Venit, head of the motion picture department at the talent agency William Morris Endeavor, the same agency that represented Crews (the actor has since left WME). Crews also filed a report with the LAPD, alleging Venit sexually assaulted him.
Charley Gallay / Stringer/ Getty Images
By coming forward, Crews showed the world that issues of Hollywood sexual misconduct could affect men as well, and when Time magazine revealed its Person of the Year issue would be the "Silence Breakers," Crews was one of the people highlighted.
Looking back now on what he went through, Crews said it was "a good thing" because it revealed who was really in his corner.
"There were a lot of people that I thought were behind me and weren't," Crews told Business Insider. "I didn't cry in my bed, 'Oh, I've been betrayed,' as a businessman the difficult times revealed who was there for me and who wasn't."
Crews didn't just leave the agency he thought for years had his back (he's now with UTA), the actor also had to question those in the industry he looked up to.
Entrepreneur/producer Russell Simmons contacted Crews asking that he give Venit a pass. Crews posted a screenshot of the email on Twitter and told Simmons (who has since been fighting numerous sexual misconduct allegations of his own) in the tweet, "No one gets a pass."
"I'm thankful," Crews continued, "because I would have gone for years thinking these people had my back. I would have just kept going. Sometimes you don't see until something weird happens, and it doesn't get weirder than what happened to me."
Message Russell Simmons sent to me regarding my sexual assault case against Adam Venit of @WME:
Dear @UncleRUSH--
NO ONE GETS A PASS pic.twitter.com/DmEvqWVxkc
- terrycrews (@terrycrews) November 19, 2017
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- SC rejects pleas seeking cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with VVPAT
- Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 electric sports bike launched in India starting at ₹2.99 lakh
- Deloitte projects India's FY25 GDP growth at 6.6%
- Italian PM Meloni invites PM Modi to G7 Summit Outreach Session in June
- Markets rally for 6th day running on firm Asian peers; Tech Mahindra jumps over 12%
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market