Ansel Elgort denies sexual assault allegations

Ansel Elgort is denying sexual assault claims that surfaced last week when a Twitter user named Gabby accused the Divergent star of assault and inappropriate behaviour six years ago in a now-deleted post.“I was distressed to see the social media posts about me that have been circulating in the past 24 hours. I cannot claim to understand Gabby’s feelings but her description of events is simply not what happened. I have never and would never assault anyone,” Elgort wrote. The 26-year-old then revealed that he does know the woman in question, but that everything that happened between them was consensual.“What is true is that in New York in 2014, when I was 20, Gabby and I had a brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship,” he continued. “Unfortunately, I did not handle the breakup well. I stopped responding to her, which is an immature and cruel thing to do to someone. I know this belated apology does not absolve me of my unacceptable behaviour when I disappeared. As I look back at my attitude, I am disgusted and deeply ashamed of the way I acted. I am truly sorry. I know I must continue to reflect, learn, and work to grow in empathy.”

 

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A post shared by @ansel on Jun 20, 2020 at 6:36pm PDT

In the original tweets on June 19, Gabby revealed that shortly after she turned 17 years old (the legal age of consent in New York where the incidents took place), she met with Elgort after exchanging some messages on social media. She described the encounter and her feelings in detail, which may be triggering for some readers.“I was sexually assaulted a couple of days after I turned 17," Gabby tweeted. "I was only f---ing 17 and he was in his 20s. He knew what he was doing. So when it happened, instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn't want to do it. The only words that came out of his mouth were, 'We need to break you in.'"

Woman comes forward with sexual assault allegation against #AnselElgort:

“I was only 17.” pic.twitter.com/NofXkxVSpn— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 19, 2020

“I wasn’t there in that moment mentally. I disassociated myself and just felt like my mind was gone… I couldn’t leave I was only 5’2 and 98 pounds,” Gabby added in her original post. She also went on to allege that Elgort tried to solicit nude photos of her, and that he wanted to have a threesome with one of her dance friends. “I didn’t tell anyone because he said it could ‘ruin his career,’” she wrote. “Years later I have ptsd, I have panic attacks I go to therapy. I just want to heal and I want to tell other girls who have been through the same sh*t.”[video_embed id='1982050']RELATED: Justin Bieber denies sexual assault claims [/video_embed]The news comes days after allegations made on Twitter against stand-up comedian Chris D’Elia, in which dozens of women spoke up with their own alleged reports of sexual assault. D’Elia has since denied the claims, while his former co-star, Whitney Cummings, revealed that she is “devastated” and “enraged” by what she’s heard. “Now that I’m aware I won’t be silent,” she wrote. “Girls should be able to be a fan of a comedian they admire without becoming a sexual target. It’s the adult’s responsibility to be an adult.”Justin Bieber was also accused of sexual assault over the weekend by two women on Twitter, one of whom has since deleted her tweet and account, and another whose story has been denied and refuted by Bieber. The singer posted a string of receipts and news articles that place him elsewhere during the time the alleged assault reportedly took place.[video_embed id='1981277']BEFORE YOU GO: Spike Lee’s latest passion project is sparking a lot of important conversations [/video_embed]