Jeremy Renner has been accused of harassment by filmmaker Yi Zhou, who claims he sent her explicit photos and acted aggressively during a meeting — allegations the actor denies.
“The allegations being made are totally inaccurate and untrue,” a representative for Renner told Variety. His attorney has not provided additional comment.
Zhou, 37, made her claims public on Monday through a series of Instagram posts using the hashtags “#Cancel” and “#CancelJeremyRenner.”
She alleged that Renner began contacting her in June, sending “a string of unwanted/unsolicited pornographic images of himself via DM and Whatsapp.”
Zhou said she believed they later developed a relationship after he “seduced” her, adding that she has since been targeted by “smear fan campaigns.”
“I’m worried for other women who will be victim and might have been victim being used as a sexual object, abused and destroyed in such a manner. Hollywood hides these men and bad behavior for the sake of money, but do we still need to be a silent victim in the post me 2 era? ” she wrote.
Speaking to the Daily Mail on Thursday, Zhou elaborated on her claims, saying she met Renner on Aug. 20 to discuss a documentary project.
She alleged that Renner consumed a bottle of wine and that his behavior became threatening, prompting her to lock herself in a room.
Zhou said she described him as “violent” in a message she sent to another person that night.
Before the allegations, Zhou and Renner had been collaborating on multiple projects.
Renner appears in Zhou’s upcoming documentary “Chronicles of Disney,” which explores the creative and cultural legacy of the Disney studio.
The film, which is not affiliated with Disney, also features costume designer Mark Bridges and makeup artist Bill Corso.
Renner also voices a character in Zhou’s animated feature “Stardust Future: Stars and Scars,” promoted as the first full-length animated movie created entirely with artificial intelligence.
“This is a film born from the intersection of human resilience and machine imagination,” Zhou said of the film, according to Variety. “I asked AI to tell me about our past and show me our future.
“My team and I used AI not as a replacement for creativity but as an extension of memory to heal what humanity has broken and to dream of what we will become.”
The film was planned for an awards-qualifying theatrical release in November, with a portion of proceeds intended for Renner’s Rennervation Foundation.
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