*Warning: This article discusses allegations of sexual assault* A man who previously worked for Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds to Mars has spoken out about what he claims was an “uncomfortable” backstage culture surrounding the actor and musician. Leto has been accused by four women of criminal sexual misconduct in a new investigation by the BBC, with the allegations being detailed in a one-hour documentary titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret. One woman alleges Leto sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17, while another claims he threatened to sexually assault her after she was left alone with him in a hotel room aged 19. Credit: BBC A third alleges she had sex with Leto when she was 17 in California, which would constitute statutory rape under the state’s age of consent laws. A fourth says he groomed her through repeated sexually explicit phone calls when she was 16 before later allegedly sending her a non-disclosure agreement, which she refused to sign. The investigation features accounts from 10 women in total, nine of which are being made public for the first time. The allegations are based on encounters spanning 2002 to 2016, when the actor, now 54, was in his 30s and 40s. One former crew member, who remains anonymous and is named Brad by the BBC, also spoke about his experiences working with Leto, who took an acting break in the late 2000s to focus on his music career as the frontman of 30 Seconds to Mars. Brad toured with the band during this time, describing them as a “very big band” who were headlining arenas in lots of different countries. When asked about the atmosphere on tour, Brad said it was “very tense.” “I’ve been on the road since I was a teenager and Jared is one of the worst people I’ve ever worked for in any way, shape or form,” he added. Credit: BBC The documentary then shows clips of Leto interacting with young fans on stage, including an uncomfortable clip of him touching a girl’s face and saying he remembers meeting her before. “How could I forget?” he says into the microphone while winking at the crowd. “No, I’m joking, I’m joking. You’re beautiful.” When asked if anyone felt uncomfortable about the way Leto interacted with female fans, Brad replied, “No one enjoyed watching that or being involved in that.” “If he ever asked anyone to get their phone number or anything like that, I think everyone thought that the age gap was way too big,” he continued, claiming that the girls were “teens.” Brad recalls at least one or two incidents of girls going onstage for the final song and the crew members being instructed to “grab those girls and invite them to come backstage” after the show. “He would talk to them in his dressing room and I couldn’t tell you what happened from there,” he says. Another alleged demand that made crew members “uncomfortable” was in cities that had a lot of modelling agencies, they were instructed to call them and offer free tickets and VIP passes to the female models. “They would have a room backstage for them,” Brad says. “I know that people involved in that did not particularly enjoy having to do that… Calling up a modelling agency and saying ‘we only want your female models’ is a little bit uncomfortable.” The former crew member claims the request came “directly from Jared.” Credit: BBC The documentary goes on to feature the account of Alex, a former model who claims her agency was invited to a Thirty Seconds to Mars show at London’s O2 in 2013 before she was later invited to an after party by one of Leto’s assistants. She alleges she told Leto she was 17, despite actually being 19, and claims he replied: “Age is just a number, and anyway, we’re in Europe.” Alex further alleges she was later encouraged to go to a nearby hotel room, where she says Leto repeatedly threatened to sexually assault her before she left. She now believes she had been deliberately lured there, saying, “The assistant knew what to say to lure me into his hotel room.” The BBC said Jared Leto has not responded to the allegations despite repeated attempts to contact him. However, a representative provided Film Shrine with the following statement on Leto’s behalf: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false.” Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret is streaming in BBC iPlayer now. Featured image credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock/BBC Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
