Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews has come to a settlement with the Hollywood agent he accused of sexually harassing him.
A statement from agent Adam Venit's company, William Morris Endeavour, revealed that the actor's lawsuit for assault, battery and sexual harassment would be dismissed. In addition, reports allege that Venit is making plans to leave the agency he has been with since its founding.
After the news was announced, the 50-year-old actor took to Twitter to celebrate, simply writing "ACCOUNTABILITY" and linking to an article stating that the agent was stepping down.
Last year, the actor revealed he had been groped by a then-unnamed movie executive in front of his wife at a Hollywood party, claiming he had kept the incident quiet so far through fear of losing his career.
In a series of tweets, he alleged that his penis and testicles had been aggressively grabbed, with his attacker grinning "like a jerk" afterwards. He then admitted that he feared he would be villainized as a black man if he had made a fuss.
"I was going to kick his ass right then— but I thought twice about how the whole thing would appear," he wrote. "'240 lbs. Black Man stomps out Hollywood Honcho' would be the headline the next day. Only I probably wouldn’t have been able to read it because I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN JAIL. So we left."
After launching his lawsuit, Crews asked for punitive and exemplary damages after claiming he suffered both physical pain and psychological damage. However, Venit denied the allegations and claimed his actions towards Crews were neither sexual nor did it cause any harm.
Prosecutors chose not file criminal charges against Venit on the grounds that the allegations didn’t meet felony filing standards, however, the Brooklyn Nine Nine actor suggested afterwards that criminal proceedings had been thrown out due to Venit’s connection to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Crews was among the most prominent men to come forward as a victim in the #MeToo movement and often talked about the importance of it, stating at a Brooklyn Nine-Nine panel in August: "We can now tell our truth".
In June, Crews also testified before Congress about his experience, saying, "The assault lasted only minutes, but what he was effectively telling me while he held my genitals in his hand was that he held the power. That he was in control."
He continued. "This is how toxic masculinity permeates culture. As I shared my story, I was told over and over that this was not abuse. This was just a joke. This was just horseplay. But I can say one man’s horseplay is another man’s humiliation. And I chose to tell my story and share my experience to stand in solidarity with millions of other survivors around the world. That I know how hard it is to come forward, I know the shame associated with the assault. It happened to me."
