Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto is facing a series of serious allegations in a new BBC documentary, with four women accusing the Suicide Squad star of criminal sexual conduct during encounters that allegedly took place when they were teenagers.
In Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, one woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by Leto in a motel bathroom when she was 17. Another claims he repeatedly told her she would wake up "with a dick in her ass" after she found herself alone with him in a hotel room when she was 19.
A third woman says she had underage sex with the actor when she was 17 in California, which the BBC notes would constitute statutory rape under the state's age of consent laws. Meanwhile, a fourth woman alleges she was groomed after meeting him at 16 before receiving repeated sexually explicit phone calls.
The documentary also features accounts from six additional women, bringing the total to 10 women interviewed by the BBC. Nine are speaking publicly for the first time. They all say that they encountered Leto between 2002 and 2016, when he was in his 30s and 40s.
The BBC says it has counted more than 120 separate allegations made online relating to Leto's behaviour toward women over the years.
The broadcast states that it corroborated several of the women's stories through friends, family members, photographs, and messages. Two former members of Thirty Seconds to Mars' crew also describe feeling uncomfortable with the way Leto interacted with teenage girls.
One woman, identified only as Isabel, alleges she met Leto in Las Vegas in 2002 while working in a store and agreed to meet him at what turned out to be a "dingy, gross motel." She claims Leto invited her into the bathroom while he showered, then "opened the shower curtain and started kissing me" before grabbing her hand and using it to masturbate himself. Isabel says she pulled away and told him she wanted to leave.
Former crew member "Brad" alleges requests for female models to attend Thirty Seconds to Mars concerts came directly from Leto. He says staff were instructed to invite girls backstage after performances, adding, "I think everyone thought the age gap was way too big."
Alex, a former model, says she attended the band's London O2 concert in 2013, and was invited to an after-party and later a nearby hotel. She says she deliberately told Leto she was 17—despite being 19—because she "felt the need" to appear younger for her own protection. According to Alex, Leto replied, "Age is just a number, and anyway, we're in Europe."
Another woman, Clara, alleges she first had sex with Leto in California in 2006 when she was 17 and he was 34. She says he asked her to call him "daddy" and told her to pretend to be "my little girl." Clara also recalls discussing California's age of consent with Leto because her father worked in law enforcement. "He just kind of shrugged it off, like it wasn't a huge concern for him," she says.
The documentary also includes allegations from Taylor, who says she was just 14 when she met Leto at a music festival in 2005. Instead of signing her t-shirt where she expected, she claims he signed across her breasts and commented, "You have a nice rack."
Another woman, Etta, says she met Leto at a modelling agency when she was 16 in 2014. After exchanging email addresses, she alleges their conversations quickly became sexual, with Leto asking questions including, "Are you a virgin? Do you have any kinks?" She also claims he suggested they would have sex one day.
Leto did not respond to the allegations, but has previously denied similar claims. More details can be found in the original report linked above.