There is a watershed moment occurring in Hollywood, with many men in the industry being accused of sexual assault, harassment, and rape in recent weeks. As the allegations continue to pile up against men like Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K., and Kevin Spacey, many women and men have been empowered to come forward with their own painful stories of abuse. The latest of these is directed at Saving Private Ryan and Twin Peaks actor Tom Sizemore, with the Hollywood Reporter disclosing that Sizemore was kicked off the set of the film Born Killers in 2003 after allegedly touching the genitals of an 11-year-old-girl.
Although her parents declined to press charges at the time and Sizemore eventually return to the set for reshoots, the now 26-year-old former actress, who declined to make her name public, has hired a lawyer and is exploring her options to bring charges against Sizemore and her parents. At this time, Sizemore’s official statement is “no comment,” but a number of people involved in the film have spoken about the alleged incident.
During a portrait session to get pictures of his character with his abandoned wife and daughter, the young actress was required to sit on Sizemore’s lap, during which he allegedly either rubbed the child’s vagina or inserted a finger inside her. According to production manager Cassidy Lunnen, “the girl was so young it was unclear to her and [later] her parents what had actually taken place and if it was intentional or not.”
Robyn Adamson, who portrayed Sizemore’s wife in the pictures, offered a devastating account of what she witnessed.
“At one point her eyes got just huge, like she could’ve vomited. I was watching her. She soon reintegrated and kept going, although she had trouble taking direction. Later, when I was told about what happened, I knew exactly what it was.”
Catrine McGregor, the casting director, explained that she was called by the girl’s agent and told about the alleged touching.
“The mother noticed that her daughter was unusually quiet and told her she was going to take her to this swimming place that was the little girl’s favorite thing. When the girl put on her bathing suit, she told her mother that it reminded her of the day before, in an upsetting way — that the bathing suit’s contact against her felt like what happened when the man had put his finger inside her.”
McGregor subsequently filed a legal complaint with SAG and advocated removing Sizemore from the project. Apparently, when the news became public to the crew, they were both unsurprised and enraged. According to production assistant Roi Maufas,
“The little girl said what she said and we all thought, ‘That f*cking sleazebag.’ There was never any doubt. He was this guy who was already known for making inappropriate comments, being drunk, being high. We’re talking about consistent behavior, just being ‘Tom Sizemore’ on set every day. Then this happens. Guys reached for hammers. Producer James R. Rosenthal, who was livid himself, had to stop a group of us from going to visit Mr. Sizemore to kick the guy’s ass.”
While the parents talked to the police, they ended up not pressing charges, possible to “not ruin their daughter’s film career.” Sizemore denied the entire thing at the time, saying “I’ve done a lot of awful things, and I’d never do anything with kids.” While the movie was eventually completed, producer Gus Spoliansky claims “We took the allegation extremely seriously and we were willing to do anything, including dismissing Tom. We just couldn’t be police, judge, and jury.”
Sizemore has spent time in jail in the past, serving six months for domestic assault after beating up his then-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss in 2003. He was also being charged with misdemeanor domestic battery in 2016 and was suspected of battery against another woman in 2009 and 2011.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
