Entourage actor Kevin Connolly has been accused of sexual assault by costume designer Gracie Cox. In a lengthy piece from The Daily Beast, Cox alleges that, in 2005, he was “mildly flirtatious” on the set and later “attacked her” at a wrap party event for The Gardener Of Eden, which was his directorial debut. A few hours after the article containing the allegations surfaced, Connolly released a statement to Us Weekly, to which he called the incident a “mutual consensual encounter.”
While speaking to the Beast, Cox said that he took her to a VIP area at his party. “As soon as we were alone in that area, he started to kiss me,” she stated. “I didn’t know how to respond — but before I could even think about what to do about it, he pulled me into one of these little side [booths], and pulled down my pants, and turned me around, and within no time was inside of me. I was just in shock.”
Connolly says that she spoke out to warn people that Connolly “is dangerous,” and she found it “infuriating” that he later directed Dear Eleanor and described the film as a “female empowerment movie” to reporters.
You can read Connolly’s full statement to Us Weekly below:
“Kevin strongly supports victims of sexual assault and believes their claims should always be heard. As someone who has worked in the industry for decades, he has treated people with nothing but respect and has maintained a stellar reputation, therefore, he was completely shocked to learn of the allegations made by Gracie Cox from a wrap party in 2005. Kevin acknowledges the lack of professionalism on his part, but he adamantly denies that it was anything other than a mutual consensual encounter.”
(Via Us Weekly & Daily Beast)
