Jeremy Renner denies allegations of harassment
Jeremy Renner has denied harassment allegations leveled against him by filmmaker Yi Zhou, who claims the actor sent her “personal and intimate photos of herself” and on one occasion exhibited disturbing behavior that prompted her to lock herself in a room.
“The allegations being made are completely inaccurate and untrue,” a representative for Renner said Variety.
Renner’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
Zhou, 37, first filed claims against Renner on Monday a series of Instagram posts, including the hashtags “#Cancel” and “#CancelJeremyRenner.” Zhou claims she started dating Renner after he contacted her in June by “sending a series of unwanted/unsolicited pornographic images of himself via DM and WhatsApp” and then “seduced” her by “loving me so much that I believed in him/the power of love.” She also claims she was contacted and “destroyed by design [of] smear campaigns for fans.”
“This experience really shows the dark side of Hollywood and the smear campaign to scare women, Asian women filmmakers and women in general,” Zhou wrote in another post. “I am shocked but pleased to also read outpouring of support from friends and media as they continue to expose domestic violence, female abuse and the unwanted unsolicited porn attacks on innocent young women.”
Speaking to the Daily mail On Thursday, Zhou detailed her accusations. She claimed that on the evening of August 20, she was with Renner to discuss a documentary project. Renner is said to have drunk a bottle of wine. Zhou characterized Renner as “violent” in a text message she said she sent to another party that evening. Zhou claimed that she locked herself in a room out of fear.
Prior to Zhou’s allegations against Renner, it was reported that the pair worked together on a series of projects. Zhou directs the documentary “Chronicles of Disney,” about the studio’s legacy and history, in which Renner is interviewed as a talking head. The film, which is not produced by Disney itself, would also star costume designer Mark Bridges and make-up artist Bill Corso.
Renner is also a voice actor in Zhou’s ‘Stardust Future: Stars and Scars’, which claims to be the first animated film created entirely by AI. Per Varietythe film had set its sights on an awards-qualifying theatrical release in November, with a portion of the proceeds donated to Renner’s charity Rennervation Foundation.
