Crews says producer pushed to end suit
Terry Crews says a film producer said he could only return to the “Expendables” film franchise if he dropped his sexual assault lawsuit against a Hollywood agent.
Crews, above, made the allegation Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights.
Crews, who last year accused William Morris Endeavor talent agent Adam Venit of groping him at a party, was asked if there had been any retaliation for making the sexual assault allegation.
He said “Expendables” producer Avi Lerner asked that the actor drop his case in order to appear in the fourth installment of the action film series and warned of “troubles” if it wasn’t dropped.
Crews has been in each of the previous films in the series, which began in 2010.
“Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on, am I going to be a part of this or am I gonna take a stand? And there are projects I had to turn down,” he said.
An email seeking comment from Lerner’s Millennium Films was not immediately returned.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office decided in March not to file charges against Venit, determining the allegations were not a felony. Crews has also filed a lawsuit against Venit.