George Takei Responds To Sexual Assault Allegations Made By Former Actor, Model
Star Trek icon George Takei has responded to accusations of sexual assault made against him by former model and actor Scott R. Bronston in a social media post via his official Facebook page.
Bronston told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview Friday that George Takei had drugged and groped him inside the actor’s condo in Hollywood back in 1981. He says he was 23 at the time of the incident while Takei was in his early 40’s.
Takei, an author, activist, and a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, took to Facebook on Saturday to deny the accusations, writing that he is “shocked and bewildered” by the claims. The gay activist writes that he doesn’t recall having known anyone who goes by the name Scott R. Bronston. He adds that the very idea that someone would accuse him of committing non-consensual acts is “quite personally painful.”
Moreover, George Takei mentions in the lengthy post that his husband of 30 years, Brad Takei, is supporting him “100 percent” amid the sexual assault allegations made against him.
Read Takei’s full statement on Facebook below.
https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/posts/2268920366470737
George Takei, whose social media presence has grown considerably over the last several years, has been receiving support from a big majority of his social media followers following his response to the accusations.
Despite the overwhelming support received by the Star Trek alum, there are a few who slammed him for insinuating that his accuser is a liar. One user pulled the hypocrisy card by posting a screenshot of a tweet Takei made in the past about why most victims of sexual assault refuse to come forward.
https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/posts/2268920366470737?comment_id=2268923223137118&reply_comment_id=1691866367531019&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D
George Takei’s reputation, however, has taken a big hit given his accuser’s detailed account of the alleged groping incident.
George Takei accused of groping former male model in 1981 https://t.co/w1pzr35ccH pic.twitter.com/PydnqeSNq9
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) November 11, 2017
In his interview, Bronston said he was living in Hollywood and was working as a waiter, actor, and model when he met Takei at the Blue Dot Bar in 1981. They allegedly exchanged numbers and since then had some chance encounters at clubs. The two became closer when Bronston broke up with his then-boyfriend.
“He said, ‘Let me know what your new number is’ and I did. And not long after we broke up and I moved out, George called me.”
Former model and actor Scott R. Brunton alleges the Star Trek actor assaulted him after he passed out in Takei's home.https://t.co/Jhhd5baFNc
— Vulture (@vulture) November 11, 2017
George, according to Bronston, invited him to dinner and the theater.
“He was very good at consoling me and understanding that I was upset and still in love with my boyfriend,” Brunton says. “He was a great ear. He was very good about me spilling my heart on my sleeve.”
“We have the drink and he asks if I would like another,” Brunton says. “And I said sure. So, I have the second one, and then all of a sudden, I begin feeling very disoriented and dizzy, and I thought I was going to pass out. I said I need to sit down and he said sit over here and he had the giant yellow beanbag chair. So I sat down in that and leaned my head back and I must have passed out.”
“The next thing I remember I was coming to and he had my pants down around my ankles and he was groping my crotch and trying to get my underwear off and feeling me up at the same time, trying to get his hands down my underwear,” Brunton recalls. “I came to and said, ‘What are you doing?!’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ He goes, ‘You need to relax. I am just trying to make you comfortable. Get comfortable.’ And I said, ‘No. I don’t want to do this.’ And I pushed him off and he said, ‘OK, fine.’ And I said I am going to go and he said, ‘If you feel you must. You’re in no condition to drive.’ I said, ‘I don’t care I want to go.’ So I managed to get my pants up and compose myself and I was just shocked. I walked out and went to my car until I felt well enough to drive home, and that was that.”
Initially, George Takei’s spokesperson, Julia Buchwald, told THR that “George is traveling in Japan and Australia and not reachable for comment.”
Brunton says in the interview that Takei’s statement about the sexual assault allegations made against Kevin Spacey was what prompted to come forward with his story.
“I don’t want anything from him but an apology,” he says. “I am sure he’ll disown all this, I don’t know, maybe not.”
[Featured Image by Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images]
