Photo: CSPAN
On Tuesday, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about his own story of sexual assault and to advocate for the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights. “I guess that’s why we have this full room today,” the committee’s ranking member Dianne Feinstein quipped, introducing Crews as part of a hearing on legislation to codify sexual assault survivors’ rights.
The Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights would codify certain rights for people reporting assault, like having their rape kits preserved and forensic testing subsidized, in all 50 states.
“This past year we have seen powerful men in Hollywood and elsewhere finally held accountable for sexual assault,” Crews said in his opening statement. “We also saw the backlash survivors faced coming forward. I wanted these survivors to know that I believed them, I supported them, and that this happened to me too.”
In reporting his assault, Crews said, “I heard time and time again about the rights that my predator had, but I was never told about the rights I had as a survivor. That was the wake-up call. I knew I had to be part of what was happening here today in regard to the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights.” He added, “If you know what you can do, you can actually do something about it.”
Crews said he was at a party in 2016 when the head of the motion picture department at his then-agency twice grabbed his genitals — in front of his wife. His first reaction, Crews said, “was to be violent and I immediately held back.” Asked why, the former linebacker had a ready reply. “As a black man in America,” he said, “you only have a few shots at success, you only have a few chances to make yourself a viable member of the community. I’m from Flint, Michigan. I have seen many young black men who were provoked into violence: They were in prison or they were killed. They’re not here.”
Crews said it was his wife who counseled restraint, telling him if he ever had anyone try to push him into any situation, don’t do it — but don’t give up, Crews recalled. “She trained me and told me if this situation happens, let’s leave,” he said, “and the training worked because I did not go into my first reaction. The training worked. But the next day I went right to the agency and — I have texts, I have my own conversations — and I told them this is unacceptable.”
And when he asked the agency what they were going to do about the “predator roaming your halls,” Crews said he was given every assurance, “and then they disappeared.” (The man in question, Adam Venit of William Morris Endeavor, was demoted but not fired.)
“The assault lasted only minutes, but what he was effectively telling me while he held my genitals in his hand was that he held the power. That he was in control,” Crews said of the encounter with Venit.
The experience “encouraged me to come forward with my own experience and reflect on the cult of toxic masculinity,” he explained.
“I’m not a small or insecure man but in that moment and in the time that followed I’ve never felt more emasculated,” Crews said. Watching women step forward as part of the #MeToo movement, he added, “this shame washed over me again and again and I knew I had to act.” And speak out he has — both as a victim and a man in a position to do something about it.
“I have to say the silence is deafening when it comes to men coming forward,” he said. “As I told my story I was told over and over that this was not abuse. That this was a joke. That this was just horseplay. But one man’s horseplay is another’s humiliation.”
And though he came to Congress as one man Tuesday, Crews insisted he stands on the proverbial shoulders of many. “I sit here before you just as an example because a lot of people don’t believe that a person like me could actually be victimized, and what happened to me has happened to many, many other men in Hollywood, and since I came forward with my story I’ve had thousands and thousands of men come to me and say, ‘Me too — this is my story.’” You can read Crews’s full prepared remarks below.
Actor Terry Crews has explained why he did not fight back against the man he says sexually assaulted him years ago, in emotional testimony before a US Senate committee.
The actor and former NFL player spoke out at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on proposed legislation known as the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights.
Mr Crews – an outspoken feminist and supporter of the #metoo movement – testified in favour of the bill, citing his own experience.
The 49-year-old has publicly accused a high level Hollywood agent of groping him at a party in 2016. He has denied the allegations.
"The assault lasted only minutes, but what he was effectively telling me while he held my genitals in his hand, was that he held the power,” Mr Crews told the committee in his opening statement. “That he was in control.”
He added: "This is how toxic masculinity permeates culture."
Senator Dianne Feinstein later asked Mr Crews why he had not fought off his alleged assailant, noting that the actor was a “big, powerful man”. Mr Crews replied that his initial response was to become violent, but that he held back.
“Senator, as a black man in America, you only have a few shots at success,” he told Ms Feinstein. “You only have a few chances to make yourself a viable member of the community.”
He added: “I’m from Flint, Michigan. I have seen many, many young black men who were provoked into violence, and they were in prison, or they were killed. And they’re not here.”
Mr Crews said he left the party with his wife, who had coached him on how not to become violent when provoked. But when he tried to report the alleged assault to Mr Venit’s agency the next day, he said, nothing happened.
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“I was told, 'We're gonna do everything in our power. We are gonna handle this, Terry. You're right, it is unacceptable',” he said. “And then they disappeared.”
According to Variety, Crews filed a lawsuit against agent Adam Venit and employer William Morris Endeavours, who he accused of grabbing his genitals at the event.
The agent was suspended for 30 days in October last year, Deadline reported.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor spoke out regarding the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights, which focuses on collecting and preserving rape kits.
The bill was signed into law at a federal level in 2016, but was meant to serve as a model for states to follow.
Image copyright Getty Images
50 Cent is facing a backlash after mocking a Brooklyn Nine-Nine star for speaking out about sexual assault.
Terry Crews had just given an emotional speech to US politicians where he talked about being "groped" by a Hollywood agent in 2016.
50 Cent then posted a photo - which has since been deleted - showing how muscular the actor is with the caption: "I got raped, my wife just watched."
Fans have called the rapper's post "disgusting".
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Terry Crews says he was sexually assaulted while at a party with his wife
Terry Crews, a former American football player, was appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to back new laws for sexual assault victims.
"I'm not a small or insecure man," he said. "But, in that moment... I've never felt more emasculated.
"The assault lasted only minutes, but what he was effectively telling me while he held my genitals in his hand, was that he held the power - that he was in control.
"This is how toxic masculinity permeates culture."
He explained that, in the aftermath, he was told "over and over that this was not abuse, that this was just a joke, that this was just horseplay".
But he now knows that "one man's horseplay is another man's humiliation."
It's not the first time the star has gone public with his story - he originally came forward last year in the wake of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
But this speech was to politicians trying to work out how best to implement a new set of rules called the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act, designed to better protect sexual assault victims.
One senator asked him why - as a "big powerful man" - he didn't push his attacker away.
"Senator, as a black man in America you only have a few shots at success," he answered.
"You only have a few chances to make yourself a viable member of the community. I'm from Flint, Michigan.
"I have seen many, many young black men who were provoked into violence and they are in prison, or they were killed."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Terry Crews plays Detective Sergeant Terence ‘Terry’ Jeffords on Brooklyn Nine-Nine
50 Cent's post on Instagram mocked Terry Crews for freezing "in fear".
It also implied that - if the same thing had happened to 50 Cent - his response would have been so violent "they would have had to take me to jail".
Terry Crews has since been asked what he makes of the post.
"I love 50 Cent, I listen to his music while I'm working out," he told TMZ.
He then added: "I prove that size doesn't matter when it comes to sexual assault."
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WASHINGTON — Terry Crews testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that “toxic masculinity permeates culture,” recounting his own story of sexual assault by a Hollywood agent.
He also said that he wouldn’t do an “Expendables 4” after what he described as the producer’s attempt to retaliate.
In his opening statement to the committee, Crews did not name the agent, but he has filed a lawsuit against WME partner Adam Venit, claiming he groped him at a 2016 party. He has also recounted the incident in interviews and on “Dr. Phil.”
Crews told the committee, “The assault lasted only minutes, but what he was effectively telling me while he held my genitals in his hand was that he held the power. That he was in control.”
He added, “This is how toxic masculinity permeates culture. As I shared my story, I was told over and over that this was not abuse. This was just a joke. This was just horseplay. But I can say one man’s horseplay is another man’s humiliation. And I chose to tell my story and share my experience to stand in solidarity with millions of other survivors around the world. That I know how hard it is to come forward, I know the shame associated with the assault. It happened to me.”
The hearing was held on the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, which he said “gives survivors the right to have time to distance themselves from the immediate trauma before making the difficult decision to report the assault to law enforcement.” Also testifying was Amanda Nguyen, the CEO and founder of civil rights organization Rise.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute Crews’ case as a felony, and the Los Angeles City Attorney said a misdemeanor complaint fell outside the statute of limitations.
When Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, asked Crews whether he had faced any retaliation for coming forward, Crews said the producer of “Expendables” “called my manager and asked him to drop my case in order for me to be in the fourth installment of the movie, and if I didn’t there would be trouble.”
“Oh my,” Grassley responded.
Crews has previously identified the producer as Avi Lerner.
He said he would not appear in “Expendables 4,” noting that Lerner is also being accused in a separate claim. In 2017, Lerner and Millennium Films were sued by a former executive for sexual harassment.
Crews said he asked himself, “Am I going to be part of this? Am I going to take a stand?”
Crews also told the committee that growing up, he “watched as my father violently abused my mother, using his power and authority to dominate her. All I could think was how I wanted to protect her. How, if I get strong, I can protect her from this living nightmare.”
He said as he grew up, “this thought transformed the type of man I became. I swore I would never be like my father and yet I believed, to my core, that as a man, I was more valuable in this world. As a protector and symbol of strength, I was more worthy. That women were beneath me.” He said he “used images of women’s body and pornography at my disposal, validating my need for control. I often cut women short of sharing personal details of their lives so they would seem less human, less real. As a man, I was taught my entire life that I must control the world. So, I used power, influence, and control to dominate every situation: from the football field to the film set, even in my own home with my wife and children.” That changed with the 2016 incident, he said. “I’m not a small or insecure man, but in that moment, and in this time following, I’ve never felt more emasculated,” he said. “As I watched women and colleagues in my industry come forward to share their #MeToo stories, this shame washed over me again and I knew I needed to act.”
