Terry Crews Files Lawsuit vs Adam Venit, WME Agency Over Sexual Assault Claims
Actor Terry Crews has filed a lawsuit against Adam Venit over allegations of sexual assault.
According to reports, the lawsuit cited nine claims of assault and sexual harassment which will force Venit and Hollywood agency WME to answer to the allegations in court.
The complaint was filed on Monday and would require the defendants to respond to allegations of assault, battery, sexual battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and negligent retention and supervision.
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In the obtained court documents, Crews' camp mentioned an incident on Feb. 4, 2016 where Venit had allegedly committed "blatant and unprovoked sexual assault." The complaint narrated that it had been the first time Crews and Venit met, and the latter suddenly purportedly groped the actor's private parts and caused him "immediate pain."
In the following paragraph, Crews claimed that on the very next day, he told his WME agent, Brad Slater, of his encounter with Venit. However, the actor's camp said the agency "took no action ... likely because Venit is a significant moneymaker for WME."
Crews' legal counsel reiterated that the inaction on the part of WME should be held liable for "condoning" and "ratifying" Venit's alleged advances.
At the height of the revelations made by actresses in Hollywood about their sexual assault encounters with big time producer Harvey Weinstein, Crews took to Twitter and shared his own unpleasant experience of harassment in a red carpet event. At the time, he had refused to name the person he was accusing of assault.
However, the story the "Brooklyn 99" actor shared on social media was the same as how it was told in his formal complaint filed with the court of Los Angeles, California.
Crews added in the complaint that he had repeatedly told off Venit but to no avail. He shared that he had even asked actor Adam Sandler, who had hosted the event, for help in convincing Venit to stop touching him.
Venit and WME have yet to comment on the lawsuit.
