A new BBC documentary presents serious allegations against Oscar-winning actor and “Thirty Seconds to Mars” singer Jared Leto, with four women claiming they were victims of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior when they were minors or young women.
The women describe incidents that, according to their testimonies, occurred from 2002 to 2016, when Leto was between 30 and 40 years old. He, according to the BBC, did not respond to the allegations made against him.
A total of 10 women spoke to the British network's investigation, nine of whom have come forward with their stories for the first time. The BBC says it has corroborated some of the allegations through friends and relatives of the women, as well as through photographs and messages presented to investigators.
"It made me feel insecure"
One of the women, who uses the name Isabel for protection, claims she was sexually assaulted in 2002, when she was 17 years old.
She says she met Leto at a store in Las Vegas where she worked and agreed to meet him at a hotel. She claims they eventually took her to a cheap motel, where she says the actor sexually assaulted her.
Isabel says that for many years she blamed herself for what happened, believing she was "a stupid girl," until she was able to reconsider her experience.
Complaint about a threat in a hotel
Alex, a former model, claims she met Leto in 2013 after a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert in London.
According to her testimony, she was 19 years old at the time, but told Leto she was 17 because she felt she needed to protect herself.
As she claims, he replied: "Age is just a number."
She says she later found herself alone with him in a hotel room, where, according to her, he made a sexually threatening comment to her when she tried to find a way to leave.
"Then I realized I wasn't sure," she says.
Complaint about relationship with a minor
Another woman, Clara, claims she had sexual relations with Leto in 2006, when she was 17 and the actor was 34.
She says she met him through someone from the group's environment and claims Leto knew her age.
She says they discussed the age of consent for sexual intercourse in California, as her father worked in the police force, but the actor reportedly "overlooked it as if it wasn't important."
Complaint about comment about a 14-year-old girl
A fourth woman, Taylor, claims she met Leto at a music festival in 2005, when she was 14 years old.
According to her testimony, during an autograph signing, the actor made a sexual comment about her body and asked his bodyguards to take her backstage.
Her mother, she says, confronted him about the incident, but he allegedly repeated the comment.
Telephone conversation with sexual content
Five women claim to have received sexually suggestive phone calls from Leto when they were teenagers.
Etta, who was 16 in 2014, says she met him through a modeling agency in Los Angeles.
According to her, the communication that initially concerned her career quickly evolved into personal and sexual discussions.
The woman claims that Leto asked her questions of a sexual nature and mentioned the possibility of them having a sexual relationship.
Later, she says, she was sent a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which she refused to sign.
Leto has denied the previous allegations.
Jared Leto has previously denied allegations of sexual misconduct against him. The latest allegations were also published in an American media outlet, with the actor's side calling them false.
Leto is one of Hollywood's most popular actors, having won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2014 for the film "Dallas Buyers Club." He is also the lead singer of Thirty Seconds to Mars, one of the most successful rock bands of recent decades.
