Terry Crews compares alleged sexual assault to being a POW
The Associated Press | Posted: November 15, 2017 7:41 PM | Last Updated: November 15, 2017
'I will not be shamed,' says Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor and former NFLer
Terry Crews named his alleged attacker and compared being sexually assaulted to being a prisoner of war in an appearance Wednesday on Good Morning America.
Crews told host Michael Strahan that he "never felt more emasculated" than when a powerful Hollywood agent groped his genitals at a party last year and says last month's news of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein triggered an episode of post-traumatic stress.
"I did not know this man. I have never had a conversation with him, ever... The first time I ever had an interaction with him was at this event," Crews recounted.
"And then he comes back again and he just won't stop."
The former National Football League player confirmed that he recently filed a police report against Adam Venit, the longtime head of William Morris Endeavor's motion pictures group. Venit is an agent to stars such as Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy and more, Crews noted.
Though he said he was enraged by the incident and left the party shortly after, Crews said he did not retaliate at the time because "being a large, African-American man...I would immediately be seen as a thug."
A message seeking comment from the agency was not immediately returned Wednesday. Crews recently left the agency, which has suspended Venit.
The star of TV's Brooklyn Nine-Nine says he felt empowered to share his experience after so many women came forward with allegations against Weinstein.
"I will not be shamed," Crews told Strahan. "What kind of man would I be to tell my kids, 'If someone touches you where you don't want to, tell someone' if I'm not doing it myself?"