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Published 13:09 30 Jul 2026 GMT
Following allegations that four women have accused Jared Leto of criminal sexual misconduct, attention is turning back to a 2018 James Gunn post that some now see as a pointed jab at the actor.
The new claims are detailed in Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, which aired on BBC iPlayer. The documentary features four women: Isabel, Alex, Clara and Etta, (who all chose to conceal their identities) who describe encounters with Leto dating back to when they were just teenagers.
Isabel, now in her 40s, says she was 17 when Leto allegedly sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom, while, Alex, 19 at the time but told Leto she was 17, claims he threatened her with sexual assault after they were left alone in a hotel room.
Clara alleges she had sex with Leto when she was 17, which would constitue statutory rape under California law, while Etta was just 16 when she was allegedly groomed after Leto reportedly made several sexually explicit calls to her.
The BBC spoke to 10 women who say they encountered Leto between 2002 and 2016, when he was in his 30s and 40s.
These allegations follow a 2025 Air Mail investigation in which nine women came forward.
The actor denied those claims at the time, and has since been forced to deny them again in a recent statement concerning the BBC’s investigation.
Long before these reports, James Gunn made a now-viral comment about Leto. As one X user noted: “James Gunn of all people made a reference to this a long time ago.”
In May 2018, Dylan Sprouse posted on Twitter, tagging Leto: “Now that you’ve slid into the dm’s of every female model aged 18-25, what would you say your success rate is?”
Gunn replied: “He starts at 18 on the internet?”
Though he never elaborated on the pointed comment, many have since read the line as an insinuation that Leto allegedly pursued women younger than 18.
Gunn has also taken indirect jabs at Leto’s band, Thirty Seconds to Mars in the past, in his series Peacemaker.
In the season two premiere, John Cena’s character says: “Last time I was in that car, it was playing Spin Doctors or Thirty Seconds to Mars or some s**t. I was gonna kick its a** then, but you two seem like you’re on good terms.”
Emilia (Jennifer Holland) replies: “I am not on good terms with Thirty Seconds to Mars, how dare you.”
Cena’s character fires back: “Jeez, anyone’s better than Thirty Seconds to Mars. That garage band I was in for two seconds is better than Thirty Seconds to Mars.”
Despite these jokes, Gunn has never described himself as being in a feud with Leto or suggested there was a personal falling out between them.
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Published 15:32 29 Jul 2026 GMT
Warning: This article may contain some distressing information.
Dylan Sprouse's post from 2018 has resurfaced after a new documentary featured allegations of criminal sexual conduct against Jared Leto, made by four women who say the incidents happened when they were teenagers.
The documentary, titled Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, airs this week and includes interviews with 10 women, nine of whom the BBC says are speaking publicly for the first time.
One woman alleges the now-54-year-old actor assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17, while another claims Leto threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19.
A third woman alleges she had sex with Leto in California when she was 17, below the state's age of consent.
She claims the actor "shrugged off" a conversation about the age of consent being 18, meaning the alleged encounter would be classified as statutory rape.
A fourth woman alleges Leto made repeated sexually explicit phone calls to her when she was 16 and, on at least one occasion, suggested they should have sex.
The BBC says it has seen a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that the fourth woman was asked to sign to stop her discussing her relationship with Leto, although she refused.
Four additional women featured in the documentary also accuse Leto of making "strange and often very sexual" phone calls to them when they were younger.
All of the women allege their interactions with Leto took place between 2002 and 2016, when the actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman was in his 30s and 40s.
"This was 25 years ago… he has gotten away with it," one alleged victim says in the documentary.
The BBC says it corroborated "a number of the women's accounts with friends and family who were told about the encounters with Leto at the time".
It also says it reviewed photographs and messages that "support the women's accounts" in several cases.
The documentary also includes interviews with two men who previously worked with Thirty Seconds to Mars.
They claim staff members often felt uncomfortable with the way Leto interacted with teenage girls, alleging he would sometimes invite them backstage to his dressing room or to the house where he was recording.
"I think everyone thought the age gap was way too big," one former staff member says.
Following renewed attention on the allegations, social media users have rediscovered a tweet actor Dylan Sprouse posted in 2018.
The former Suite Life of Zack & Cody star appeared to publicly call out Leto over claims that he had been messaging young models.
"Yo @JaredLeto now that you’ve slid into the dm’s of every female model aged 18-25, what would you say your success rate is?" he wrote.
It's unclear what prompted the post at the time, and Leto did not publicly respond.
The latest claims come after multiple women accused Leto of sexual misconduct in June 2025.
Air Mail published interviews with nine women who alleged the actor engaged in inappropriate behaviour over many years, with some saying they were underage at the time.
Among the allegations were claims that Leto asked sexual questions to a 16-year-old girl, walked out of a room naked in front of a 17-year-old girl, and exposed himself before placing an 18-year-old's hand "on him".
The report followed allegations from Los Angeles DJ Allie Teilz, who reposted a Facebook status from 2012 to her Instagram Stories in May 2025, writing that she was "assaulted and traumatized by this creep when I was 17," per PEOPLE.
In response to the report, a representative for Leto "expressly" denied all of the allegations.
A representative also described Teilz's claims as "demonstrably false".
Leto has not responded to the allegations in the new BBC documentary.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or rainn.org in the US, or contact rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 500 2222 in the UK.
Published 09:17 08 Jun 2025 GMT
Jared Leto has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, with some claiming they were underage when the interactions began.
A report published by AirMail on June 7 had interviews with nine women who claim that the 53-year-old actor acted inappropriately towards them.
“It’s been an open secret for a long time,” an anonymous woman told the outlet.
In the report, Laura La Rue — a model who was 16 in 2008 - alleged that she met Leto at an animal rights benefit that year.
She claims that they started interacting over email before the actor invited her to meet him at his apartment, where he allegedly began flirting with her.
Leto's representative told AirMail that the "communications contain nothing sexual or inappropriate," and that 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, however, claims that she never applied for that position.
Also in the report are claims Leto has asked sexual questions to a 16-year-old girl, walked out naked into a room where a 17-year-old girl was sat, and allegedly m*sturbated in front of an 18-year-old girl before placing her hand "on him."
Leto's representative "expressly" denied all allegations.
Another report from an unnamed 16-year-old claims that Leto approached her and got her phone number at Urth Caffé in Los Angeles.
She claims that he then called her in the middle of the night using the "weirdest, grossest voice," adding that she didn't "know if he was on drugs."
She claims that Leto continued to call her in the early hours of the morning for three weeks after she turned down an invitation for a party.
“And the conversations turned sexual," she claimed. "He’d ask things like, ‘Have you ever had a boyfriend? Have you ever sucked a d***?’ ”
She added: “He changed — his voice, the way he talked. It scared me. That was the first time I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s not just in movies.’ ”
Leto's representative expressed to AirMail that he "has not had a drink or used drugs in over 35 years."
Another woman, who was 18 at the time, claims that she and Leto began texting when things turned sexual.
She claimed that when she visited him, he would ask uncomfortable questions and on one occasion began pleasuring himself in front of her.
“He suddenly pulled his penis out and started m*sturbating," she said. "Then he walked over, grabbed my hand, and put it on him. He leaned in and said, ‘I want you to spit on it.’”
Other reports claim that Leto would invite girls who were 18 and under to parties where he would allegedly attempt to get them to skinny dip.
Leto's representative said: "There was never any recruiting, complaints or impropriety."
Nightlife promoter Brent Bolthouse supported these claims, stating that he never saw anyone skinny dip at Leto's parties.
Leto's representative added: "[The] allegations are demonstrably false."
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or rainn.org in the US, or contact rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 500 2222 in the UK.
Published 15:55 29 Jul 2026 GMT
Warning: This article may contain some distressing information.
Actor and musician Jared Leto has responded to claims of criminal sexual conduct made against him by multiple women in a new BBC documentary.
Titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Darkest Secret, the title was released on Wednesday (July 29), and featured 10 women who came out with allegations against the Thirty Seconds to Mars artist.
Four of these women alleged that these incidents took place when they were teenagers.
“I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life,” Leto said in a statement via his representatives to Variety.
He added: “These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”
The BBC has since stated that the women's claims were backed up by "friends and family who were told about the encounters with Leto at the time," as well as pictures and messages in some instances which “support the women’s accounts.”
BBC's documentary is out today, and it details how the 54-year-old celebrity allegedly became involved with 10 women, nine of whom are speaking publicly for the first time, and four of whom were teenagers.
One of the women accuses the Oscar-winning actor of assaulting her in a motel bathroom when she was 17, while another claimed Leto threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19.
A third woman claimed Leto had sex with her in California when she was also 17, despite the state's age of consent being 18, meaning it would be classified as statutory rape.
The woman was named Clara in the doc, telling BBC: “He told me, 'I would like you to call me daddy'. And it was either pretend to be a little girl or 'my little girl.'"
She said that an associate of Leto approached her backstage at a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert in 2006 and obtained her phone number on his behalf, before going back to the actor's home and having sex with him while her friend waited in another room.
Another claim alleges that the musician repeatedly made sexually explicit and suggestive phone calls to her when she was just 16, suggesting that they should have sex on at least one occasion.
These encounters are said to have occurred between 2002 and 2016, when Leto was in his 30s and 40s.
Once the allegations came to light again, social media users have rediscovered a tweet actor Dylan Sprouse posted in 2018.
The former Disney star publicly called Leto out over claims that he had been messaging young models.
"Yo @JaredLeto now that you’ve slid into the dm’s of every female model aged 18-25, what would you say your success rate is?" he asked.
It's unclear what led Sprouse to post this at the time, and Leto did not publicly respond.
The allegations brought against Leto this year are not the first - in 2025, DJ Allie Teilz accused Leto of sexual misconduct on social media.
She said that he assaulted her when she was just 17, with multiple other women coming forward in an Air Mail investigation, which was published in June 2025.
It detailed that nine women had alleged the actor displayed inappropriate behaviour over the years, with some admitting they were underage at the time.
Leto "expressly" denied all allegations made in this report.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or rainn.org in the US, or contact rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 500 2222 in the UK.
Published 16:09 29 Jul 2026 GMT
Warning: This article may contain some distressing information.
Jared Leto allegedly made a disturbing eight-word request to a 17-year-old fan who has accused him of criminal sexual conduct.
The BBC will premiere a documentary titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, which has detailed allegations of criminal sexual conduct against the 54-year-old actor from four women who say their encounters with him took place when they were teenagers.
The documentary features interviews with 10 women, nine of whom are speaking publicly for the first time, according to the broadcaster.
The women say they encountered the award-winning actor between 2002 and 2016, when he was in his 30s and 40s. He is now 54.
Among the most disturbing claims is an allegation from a woman named Clara who has claimed that she first had sex with the Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman in California when she was 17 and he was 34.
“He told me, 'I would like you to call me daddy'. And it was either pretend to be a little girl or 'my little girl,'" she said in the film, per BBC News.
Clara says an associate of Leto approached her backstage at a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert in 2006 and obtained her phone number on his behalf.
She alleges she later went to the actor's home and had sex with him while her friend waited in another room.
Clara says she discussed California’s age of consent, which is 18, with Leto because her father worked in law enforcement.
"He [Leto] just kind of shrugged it off, like it wasn’t a huge concern for him," she said.
She described herself as “so naive and vulnerable” at the time, adding: "It was only as time went on that I realised more and more how scary that really was."
Another woman, referred to as Isabel, alleges the Suicide Squad actor sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom in 2002 when she was 17.
Isabel says she agreed to meet him after showing Leto and his friends around the Las Vegas store where she worked.
She claims he called her into the bathroom while showering. "I don’t think there was many words exchanged, and he opened the shower curtain and started kissing me," she says.
Isabel alleges Leto then grabbed her hand and used it to masturbate himself. She says she pulled away and told him she wanted to leave.
"Most of my life I had viewed this event as, I was a stupid girl… and so this bad thing happened," she says.
A former model identified as Alex claims she met Leto after a Thirty Seconds to Mars show at London’s O2 Arena in 2013.
Alex was 19 but says she told Leto she was 17 because she "felt the need" to appear younger.
She claims the then-41-year-old replied: "Age is just a number, and anyway, we’re in Europe."
Alex says she was later encouraged by one of Leto’s assistants to go to a hotel, where she unexpectedly found herself alone with him.
When she asked whether she could sleep on a chaise longue, she alleges Leto said she would wake up "with a d**k in her a**".
She says he repeated the remark several times, making her realize: "I’m not safe."
A fourth woman, Etta, claims the Tron: Ares actor made repeated sexually explicit phone calls to her when she was 16.
She alleges he asked: "Are you a virgin? Do you have any kinks?"
"He did at least once mention him and I having sex at some point," she says.
Etta claims she was later sent a non-disclosure agreement after Leto told her his lawyer was concerned about his relationships with women. She refused to sign it.
The BBC says it has seen the document and related messages.
Another woman, Taylor, alleges Leto made a lewd comment about her chest when she was 14 and instructed a security guard to take her backstage.
Former Thirty Seconds to Mars staff also told the documentary they allegedly felt uncomfortable about Leto’s interactions with teenage girls.
"I think everyone thought the age gap was way too big," one says.
According to Variety, the actor addressed the allegations in a statement issued by his representatives on Wednesday (July 29).
"I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life," Leto said.
He added: "These claims are absolutely and categorically false."
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or rainn.org in the US, or contact rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 500 2222 in the UK.
Published 09:47 02 Feb 2021 GMT
Marilyn Manson has broken his silence after five women, including his ex-fiancé Evan Rachel Wood, accused him of sexual misconduct.
Yesterday, the 33-year-old Westworld actress took to her official Instagram account to share an official statement with her 911,000 followers on Monday, January 1.
Wood stated:
"The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson."
"He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission.
"I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him before he ruins more lives.
"I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent."
Responding to the accusations made by Wood, whom Manson first met when she was 18-years-old, Manson wrote in an official statement addressed to his 3.6 million followers:
"Obviously, my life and my art have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality.
"My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how — and why — others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth."
Per NME, four other accusers have come forward with accusations of their own in the wake of Wood's allegations, accusing the musician of grooming and abusing them.
For instance, model Sarah McNeilly wrote on Instagram: "He (Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson) lured me in with 'love bombing.'
"As he was wooing me I would come to find out he was torturing others. Before long I was the one being tortured. I was emotionally abused, terrorized, and scarred. I was locked in rooms when I was 'bad', sometimes forced to listen to him entertaining other women.
"I was told stories of others who tried to tell their story and their pets ended up dead. I wasn’t allowed to go near other artists working on the same set, as he told me they had aids and were disgusting and if I did so he would be very upset and: 'I wouldn’t want that.'
"I was verbally berated for hours upon hours. Blamed for everything under the sun in order to make me feel worthless. Any male friends in my life were not allowed any longer. He threatened to shank one of them after they posted something on my Facebook page.
"I was thrown up against a wall and he threatened to bash my face in with the baseball bat he was holding, for trying to get him to pick out a pair of pants prior to a music video.
"I witnessed him terrorize and abuse others in my presence. Slander his exes. I have been afraid to bring any spotlight upon myself as to avoid winding up in his crosshairs again.
"As a result of the way he treated me, I suffer from mental health issues and PTSD that have affected my personal and professional relationships, self-worth, and personal goals."
Meanwhile, in a statement of her own, a woman named Ashley Lindsay Morgan alleged that she too had been abused by Manson after meeting him in Bangkok and starting a relationship with him.
Morgan stated: "I was given rules and got 'in trouble' for any behavior he didn't approve of. There was abuse, sexual violence, physical violence, and coercion. I still feel the effects every day."
She added: "I don't want him to do this to anyone else and I've felt responsible for others getting hurt for so long. I just thought it was somehow my fault. I know he is still doing this to a rotating door of young girls, and causing irreparable damage."
On Instagram, another woman named Gabriella wrote: "It has taken me five years to speak out and say that I was in an abusive relationship. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and still suffer from nightmares.
"I blocked out a lot of the memories, but the feelings remain and manifest in various ways. The reason I’m finally sharing this traumatic experience is for my healing and because I’m done being silent.
"I don’t believe it’s fair for someone to not be held accountable for their horrific actions. I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor."
Per Far Out magazine, another woman named Ashley Walters also wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post: "I continue to suffer from PTSD, and struggle with depression. I stayed in touch with quite a few people who went through their own traumas, under his control.
"As we all struggled, as survivors do, to get on with our lives, I’d keep hearing stories disturbingly similar to our own experiences."
"It became clear the abuse he’s caused; he continues to inflict on so many and I cannot stand by and let this happen to others. Brian Warner needs to be held accountable."
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