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New BBC documentary details new sexual misconduct allegations against Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto
Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto has been accused by four women of criminal sexual conduct in a BBC investigation, allegations he has not publicly responded to, according to the broadcaster. — AFP file pic

LOS ANGELES, July 29 — Four women have accused Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto of criminal sexual conduct, with allegations dating from 2002 to 2016 when they were teenagers, according to a BBC investigation.

The claims are featured in the documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, which includes interviews with 10 women, nine of whom are speaking publicly for the first time.

“This was 25 years ago… he has gotten away with it,” one of the women identified only as Isabel said in a news report published today.

The BBC said one woman alleged Leto sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17, another claimed he threatened to sexually assault her in a London hotel room when she was 19, while a third alleged she had sex with the actor in California at age 17 — under the legal age of consent, which is 18.

A fourth woman accused Leto of grooming her through sexually explicit phone calls when she was 16 and said she was later sent a non-disclosure agreement that she refused to sign.

“Age is just a number, and anyway, we’re in Europe,” Leto allegedly told one of the women after she said she was 17, according to the documentary.

The BBC said it corroborated parts of the women’s accounts through contemporaneous messages, photographs and interviews with friends and relatives, while two former crew members also described feeling uncomfortable about the musician’s interactions with teenage girls backstage.

“I think everyone thought the age gap was way too big,” one former crew member said.

BBC said it repeatedly sought a response from Leto but received no reply.

The 54-year-old actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club and has also starred in films including Fight Club, Blade Runner 2049 and Suicide Squad, while continuing to tour with his rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

The latest allegations follow years of claims about Leto’s conduct, including accusations published last year by US outlet Air Mail, all of which he denied.

 

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