Actor Jeremy Renner has denied a series of allegations raised by filmmaker Yi Zhou, including that he sent her unsolicited sexual messages and threatened to call US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the Chinese writer-director.
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“The allegations are totally inaccurate and untrue,” a representative for Renner told People magazine.
Zhou, who says she worked with Renner on both the documentary Chronicles of Disney as well as an animated film, came forward with her allegations against the 54-year-old Marvel star in a series of social media posts over the past few days.
She claimed Renner introduced himself to her “out of the blue” in June with a string of “unwanted” images via WhatsApp and direct messages, “behaviour that, according to public reports, he has exhibited before”.
“He convinced me of his sincerity, saying he had been single for a long time and [was] open to a long-term relationship,” she said. “I believed in him, in the power of love and in the possibility of redemption.”
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Zhou went on to allege that Renner later “entered into written agreements” with her production company to be involved in the projects, but then “refused” to promote the films. Instead, he denied “any personal relation[ship] or professional collaboration”.
“When I called him out privately about his past misconduct and asked him to behave properly, to respect me as a woman and as a filmmaker, he threatened to call immigration/ICE on me, an act that deeply shocked and frightened me,” Zhou wrote, adding that the “misinformation and intimidation” caused her “personal and reputational harm”.