Denies model fondle in ’80s

“STAR TREK” STAR George Takei has denied that he groped a former male model in the 1980s, saying he was “bewildered” by the claim.

The 80-year-old spoke out for the first time Saturday after he was accused of preying on Scott Brunton in 1981 when the exmodel was 23.

“I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them,” Takei wrote on Twitter.

“The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now.

“I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do.”

Brunton came forward with the sexual assault allegation in a stomach-churning interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Friday.

The ex-model said he was just coming off a painful breakup when he shared an evening with Takei that ended at the actor’s Los Angeles condo.

Brunton said he blacked out after downing a second drink.

“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 told The Hollywood Reporter.

“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.’ ” Brunton never reported the incident, but The Hollywood Reporter spoke to four of the accuser’s friends who said Brunton told them about the incident years ago. Takei said the claim runs counter to everything he stands for. “Right now it is a he said / he said situation, over alleged events nearly 40 years ago,” he wrote on Twitter. “But those that know me understand that nonconsensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful.”

Takei noted that he still has the support of his longtime partner.

“Brad, who is 100% beside me on this, as my life partner of more than 30 years and now my husband, stands fully by my side,” Takei said.

“I cannot tell you how vital it has been to have his unwavering support and love in these difficult times.”

Brunton has said he decided to speak up after Takei made a statement of support for actor Anthony Rapp, 46, who accused actor Kevin Spacey of making an aggressive pass at him when he was 14.

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