Jared Leto has denied a wave of sexual misconduct allegations detailed in a new BBC documentary, telling representatives the claims are false as ten women came forward with accounts spanning more than a decade. The documentary, “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret,” aired Wednesday and features four women who accuse the Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman of criminal sexual conduct, alleging the incidents took place when they were teenagers between 2002 and 2016, when Leto was in his 30s and 40s.
Among the accounts, one woman says Leto assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17. Another alleges he threatened her with sexual assault at 19 after she was left alone with him in a hotel. A third describes a sexual encounter in California at 17, below the state’s age of consent.
The BBC says it reviewed a non-disclosure agreement one woman was reportedly asked to sign after her relationship with Leto, which she declined to sign, and that it corroborated portions of several accounts through friends and family of the women involved. Two men who worked with Leto’s band told producers they had been uneasy about how he interacted with teenage girls, including inviting them backstage or to his recording sessions.
Leto, now 54, rejected the allegations in a statement, saying he has never sexually assaulted anyone and calling the claims categorically false. No criminal charges have been filed against him in connection with any of the accusations.
The documentary follows earlier allegations that surfaced last year, when nine women told a magazine investigation that Leto had engaged in inappropriate behavior toward them, claims his representatives also denied at the time. That report followed public accusations from a Los Angeles DJ who said Leto had assaulted her when she was 17, a claim that prompted several other women to come forward. The BBC says nine of the ten women in its documentary are sharing their accounts publicly for the first time.
