X-Men: Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer faces accusations of sexual abuse and rape in a lawsuit filed by plaintiff Michael F. Egan III, who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged offenses (via The Hollywood Reporter). Egan’s suit claims that the crimes were committed on multiple occasions going back to 1999 at “sordid parties” held in both Los Angeles and Kailua, Hawaii. Singer’s legal counsel denies the charges. You can read the full legal complaint here.
“The claims made against Bryan Singer are completely without merit,” attorney Marty Singer said. “We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit. It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan’s new movie (X-Men: Days of Future Past) is about to open in a few weeks.”
Egan, now 31 and living in Nevada, claims that Singer and others threatened to ruin his prospects for a career in Hollywood if he didn’t comply with their wishes. The parties in Los Angeles were allegedly held at the so-called M&C Estate, occupied by Digital Entertainment Network founders Michael Collins-Rector and Chad Shackley. Egan’s complaint claims that Collins-Rector – who is a registered sexual offender after a 2004 ruling – sexually abused him and threatened him with a gun. Notably, the filing mentions Collins-Rector, but doesn’t name him as a defendant.
Singer is accused of providing a 17-year-old Egan with drugs and alcohol during parties at the Paul Mitchell estate in Hawaii, forcing him to inhale cocaine, pushing him into a swimming pool and holding his head underwater, and repeatedly raping him. Singer allegedly coupled all of these acts with both threats and promises of work.
The suit seeks an unspecified amount in damages for “intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery, assault and invasion of privacy by unreasonable intrusion.”
“Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children,” Egan’s attorney Jeff Herman said. “This is the first of many cases I will be filing to give these victims a voice and to expose the issue.”
[Image: Fanshare]
