Jared Leto denies allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls

USA Today

9 hours ago

Jared Leto denies allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls
Jared Leto is denying allegations of inappropriate behavior with young women.
In a report published by Air Mail on Saturday, June 7, multiple women alleged that the "Suicide Squad" actor, 53, behaved inappropriately with them when they were teenagers.
A representative for Leto told Air Mail that "all of the allegations are expressly denied."
The representative also denied an earlier allegation from Allie Teilz, a DJ who posted last month in a since-expired Instagram Story that she was "assaulted and traumatized" by Leto when she was 17, according to Air Mail. In a 2012 Facebook status update that she reposted on Instagram, Teilz wrote, "Youre (sic) not really in L.A. until Jared Leto tries to force himself on you backstage ... In a kilt .. And a snow hat."
The representative said that "Ms. Teilz's allegations are demonstrably false."
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Leto for further comment.
One woman, model Laura La Rue, told Air Mail that in 2008, the actor approached her at a benefit in California and asked her how old she was. When she said she was 16, La Rue alleged Leto, then 36, still asked for her number. She said she was living in Ojai, California, at the time but that they began emailing and that she eventually went to visit him in Los Angeles in 2009. "I remember him teasing me the whole time I was there," she said. "He was flirting with me. He'd lean in close, then pull away, like it was a game."
La Rue said she continued visiting Leto sporadically and claimed that on one occasion, when she was 17, he walked out of a room completely nude.
A representative for Leto told Air Mail that the actor's communications with La Rue "contain nothing sexual or inappropriate," adding that "Ms. La Rue later applied to work as Mr. Leto's personal assistant, further underscoring the absence of anything inappropriate in any of their interactions." La Rue told Air Mail she did not apply to work as Leto's personal assistant.
An unidentified model and music producer told Air Mail that in 2006, when she was 16, Leto grabbed her arm while she was on her way to the bathroom at a café and got her number. Days later, the actor, who would have been in his 30s at the time, allegedly called her home in the middle of the night and invited her to a party at his house, which she declined.
But the woman alleged Leto continued to call her over the next three weeks, "always at one, two, three a.m.," and that the "conversations turned sexual," with the actor asking inappropriate questions about her past sexual experiences. The woman said she was shaken by Leto's behavior, and her mother, who said she overheard one of the phone calls, vouched for her daughter's account to Air Mail. "He changed − his voice, the way he talked. It scared me," the woman told Air Mail.
Another woman claimed she began a texting relationship with Leto when she was underage. She said things could turn uncomfortable when she visited his home, with the actor asking her sexual questions. In an alleged encounter when she was 18, the woman claimed Leto "suddenly pulled his penis out and started masturbating," then "walked over, grabbed my hand, and put it on him."
Leto's representative denied her allegations.
Leto, who won the best supporting actor Oscar in 2014 for "Dallas Buyers Club," has starred in films like "Morbius" and "House of Gucci" and is the frontman of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars. He also stars in Disney's upcoming "Tron" sequel, "Tron: Ares," set for release in October.