Bryan Singer, the filmmaker behind several successful X-Men movies, is facing allegations of having sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy on a yacht in 2003, reports Huffington Post.
According to the report, the lawsuit filed by a Cesar Sanchez-Guzman states that Singer had offered a tour of the yacht to the then 17-year-old and the pushed him inside a room and forced him to perform oral sex on him. It added that Singer then forcibly performed oral sex on Sanchez-Guzman before raping him.
At the time, both victim and accused were on a yacht owned by Lester Waters, a famous investor who was known to host parties for young, gay men in the Seattle area, the report adds.
According to the lawsuit as reported by Huffington Post, Sanchez-Guzman is reportedly suing Singer for “severe psychological, mental and emotional injuries, shame, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life.”
Sanchez-Guzman also claimed that after the incident Singer told him that as a well-known producer in the industry, he could use his influence and get the 17-year-old acting jobs as long as he didn’t tell anybody about what happened. He also alleged that the Singer threatened to ruin his reputation if he did tell anyone, reports Buzzfeed News.
Sanchez-Guzman’s lawyer, Jeffrey Herman, had in 2014 represented a man’s lawsuit against Singer which accused the director of sexually abusing a minor, Huffington Post said. However, the case had later been dropped and Herman had had to state a public apology to Singer, saying that the allegations were untrue.
Singer had recently been fired from the sets of Rami Malek-starrer ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, for reportedly not showing up to the shoot in London, says Buzzfeed News. Singer in turn, had said that he was unable to due to a family crisis.
Singer is yet another famous name in Hollywood that has been accused of sexual harassment this year. Scores of allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein had surfaced earlier, leading to his expulsion from The Academy of Motion Pictures.
(With inputs from Huffington Post and Buzzfeed News)
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