Actor Settles Lawsuit With Agent
Actor Terry Crews, who sued Hollywood agent Adam Venit for allegedly groping him at an event, has settled the lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, Venit grabbed Crews’ private parts after staring at him intently. during a Hollywood event in February 2016.
“Venit, upon his first meeting Crews, viciously grabbed Crews’ penis and testicles so hard that it caused Crews immediate pain.”
“The assault lasted only minutes, but what he was effectively telling me while he held my genitals in his hand was that he held the power. That he was in control,” Crews said. “As I shared my story, I was told over and over that this was not abuse. This was just a joke. This was just horseplay. But I can say one man’s horseplay is another man’s humiliation.”
Crews informed his WME agent about the incident the following day, but the agency allegedly did nothing about it as part of a “corporate culture that fosters environments in which WME agents are knowingly permitted and encouraged to engage in misconduct, including sexually predatory conduct.”
When Crews was on Good Morning America last November, he said that people need to be held accountable for their actions.
“This is the deal about Hollywood. It is an abuse of power. This guy, again, he’s one of the most powerful [men] in Hollywood, and he looked at me at the end as if, ‘Who is going to believe you?’” he said.
Crews’ case shows that women aren’t the only victims of sexual assault and has widened the lens of the #MeToo movement. Crews, a 240-pound former NFL player, could also be susceptible to sexual assault.
Venit has denied the allegations made against him and said his actions toward Crews weren’t sexual.
Last March, prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against Venit because the allegations didn’t meet felony filing standards.
Venit plans to retire from WME next week. He was suspended and demoted after the sexual assault allegations against him came out.
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