Bryan Singer, best known for directing The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns, the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past and the upcoming Vince Gilligan CBS pilot, Battle Creek, has been accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in 1999, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday. The allegations in the lawsuit also suggest more than an isolated incident; it suggests some really insidious activities involving multiple young boys, Hollywood parties, and drugs.
From Variety:
The plaintiff, Michael Egan, claims he was 17 when Singer forcibly sodomized him, among other allegations. Egan’s lawyers, led by Jeff Herman, allege that Singer provided him with drugs and alcohol and flew him to Hawaii on more than one occasion in 1999. His suit claims battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy by unreasonable intrusion, and it seeks unspecified damages.
Egan also suggests that Marc Collins-Rector, the former chairman of Digital Entertainment Network, was tasked with arranging hook-ups with Egan (and others). Collins-Rector did plead guilty in 2004 of luring minors across state lines for sex, and he is registered as a sex offender.
The lawsuit further alleges that Singer and Collins-Rector would frequently lure young men to Singer’s home in Encino where he would intoxicate and sexaully abuse them at these “notorious” Hollywood parties that many in the industry were aware of.
The lawsuit also provides details of one of the sexual incidents:
Collins-Rector ordered Plaintiff out of the pool, and Defendant Singer hugged Plaintiff and grabbed his bare buttocks. They then went to the jacuzzi where Collins-Rector had Plaintiff sit on his lap and fondled Plaintiff’s genitals. Collins-Rector then passed Plaintiff to Defendant Singer and Plaintiff was made to sit on Defendant Singer’s lap. Defendant Singer provided an alcoholic beverage to Plaintiff and mentioned finding a role for him in an upcoming movie that he was directing. Defendant Singer told Plaintiff how “this group” controls Hollywood, and that he was sexy. Defendant Singer masturbated Plaintiff and then performed oral sex upon him. Defendant Singer solicited Plaintiff to perform oral sex upon him which Plaintiff resisted. Defendant Singer flagrantly disregarded Plaintiff’s unwillingness to submit, and forced Plaintiff’s head underwater to make Plaintiff perform oral sex upon him. When Plaintiff pulled his head out of the water in order to breathe, Defendant Singer demanded that he continue which Plaintiff refused. Defendant Singer then forced Plaintiff to continue performing oral sex upon him outside of the pool, and subsequently forcibly sodomized Plaintiff.
Jesus.
The suit is being brought by Jeff Herman, the lawyer for several of the plaintiffs who sued Kevin Clash, the actor who played Elmo on Sesame Street, and who was forced out of that job by those allegations. Herman also claims that this is the first of many lawsuits he will bring against people in the industry he alleges have been sexually abusing minors.
Bryan Singer, through his attorney, calls the lawsuit “absurd and defamatory” and “without merit,” and hopefully that is true, but these allegations are probably going to stick to Singer, whether they’re ultimately true or not. That is unfortunate for Singer and the X-Men franchise, which will soon see the release of Days of Future Past. It’s even MORE unfortunate to the victims if the allegations prove to be true.
