Overview

Four women have publicly accused Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto of sexual misconduct and assault, alleging the incidents occurred when they were teenagers. The accusations are detailed in a BBC documentary titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, released on Wednesday. Leto, 54, has categorically denied the claims, saying he has “never sexually assaulted anyone.”

The Allegations

According to the BBC, the alleged offences took place between 2002 and 2016, when Leto was in his 30s and 40s. The women’s accounts include:

  • One woman said she was sexually assaulted in a motel bathroom when she was 17.
  • Another alleged Leto threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19, after being left alone with him in a hotel room.
  • A third woman described having under-age sex with Leto in California when she was 17, which would constitute statutory rape under state law. She said Leto “shrugged off” a conversation about the age of consent being 18.
  • A fourth woman alleged she was groomed by Leto, who made repeated sexually explicit phone calls to her when she was 16, and on at least one occasion suggested they have sex. She said she was subsequently sent a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which she refused to sign.
The BBC also reported that four additional women said they received strange, often sexual phone calls from Leto when they were younger, and another woman alleged that when she was 14, Leto instructed a security guard to take her backstage at a music festival after making a lewd comment about her during an autograph signing. The girl’s mother reportedly confronted Leto, but he repeated the comment.

In total, ten women spoke to the BBC documentary, with nine sharing their stories publicly for the first time. One of the alleged victims said, “This was 25 years ago… he has gotten away with it.”

Corroboration and Verification

The BBC says it corroborated a number of the women’s accounts with friends and family who were told about the encounters at the time, and also saw pictures and messages that support the allegations. The Associated Press noted that the claims could not be independently verified by its own reporting.

Leto’s Response

In a statement released on Wednesday, Leto said: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false.” The statement did not address the specific allegations in the documentary.

Perspectives

Alleged Victims

The women allege a pattern of behaviour involving underage girls, coercion, and the use of his celebrity status. Their accounts, as presented in the documentary, describe incidents ranging from inappropriate phone calls to sexual assault and statutory rape.

Jared Leto

Leto denies all allegations of sexual assault, asserting that the claims are false. His statement did not elaborate further.

BBC

The BBC, which produced the documentary, states that it corroborated the women’s accounts through interviews with friends and family and documentary evidence. The broadcaster has not commented beyond its reporting.