WME's Adam Venit on leave after Terry Crews' sexual harassment allegations
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Actor Terry Crews and his wife, Rebecca King-Crews, arrive at the 2015 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, Nov. 22, 2015. (Reuters)
Powerhouse WME agent Adam Venit is on leave from the talent firm as it investigates an allegation of sexual harassment from actor Terry Crews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Crews disclosed, in a series of tweets on Oct. 10, that he was groped last year at a Hollywood event by a “high-level” executive. Crews wrote that he was at a function with his wife when the Hollywood executive came over and grabbed his "privates" and that the alleged assailant then "grinned like a jerk" when Crews asked what he was doing.
Sources close to the situation told Variety that Crews in recent days has been preparing to name Venit as the executive who allegedly harassed him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Venit, whose clients include Sylvester Stallone, Diane Keaton, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler and Dustin Hoffman, also oversees the mega-agency’s finance and distribution team, known as WME Global.
HOUSE LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROTECTIONS IN CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES
Crews, an ex-NFL star who garnered acting award nominations for his work on the comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” is also a client of WME.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2017, file photo, Harvey Weinstein arrives at The Weinstein Company and Netflix Golden Globes afterparty in Beverly Hills, Calif. With thousands of women embracing the "Me Too" movement to own their histories of sexual harassment and abuse, and those issues swirling at high volume in the culture overall, parents are reaching for teachable moments in the post-Weinstein world. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Crews’ disclosure on social media came in the wake of more than 80 women having come forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of everything from groping to rape — with new investigations of the disgraced Hollywood mogul now underway in New York City and London.
The actor also tweeted about why he didn’t fight back at the time of the incident, pointing to what he said would have been a racially-charged reaction to his behavior.
Agency for the Performing Arts on Oct. 20 fired youth talent agent Tyler Grasham after several young men accused him of sexual abuse. David Guillod, co-CEO of management-production Primary Wave Entertainment, took a leave of absence following actress Jessica Barth’s accusation that he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2012.