Bryan Singer has never been particularly open about his personal life, but sadly, it’s now the subject of one of the saddest and most shocking civil lawsuits Hollywood has seen in decades. In explosive legal paperwork, the Usual Suspects and X-Men director has been accused of shady business with a 17-year-old boy, allegedly offering him illegal substances in exchange for sexual favors.
Copies of the court documents were obtained by The Wrap, and while no one else has seen them, if the outlet is to be believed, they're upsetting. The alleged victim, who is publicly identified as Michael Egan in his own paperwork, claims Singer began abusing him back in 1998 when he was just 17. He allegedly frequented parties at a residence known as the M&C Estate. During those nights, Singer allegedly gave him drugs and alcohol and then forcibly sodomized him. He was also supposedly told to keep other older men at the parties happy because they controlled Hollywood and could make or break his career. The abuse allegedly continued for at least a year and Singer supposedly even flew the accuser to Hawaii on separate occasions.
The alleged victim has not spoken out publicly, but his attorney, Jeff Herman told the outlet he’s planning to file more lawsuits against the other men supposedly at the parties.
“Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children. This is the first of many cases I will be filing to give these victims a voice and to expose the issue.”
If that names sounds familiar, it’s probably because Herman is no stranger to filing lawsuits against Hollywood celebrities on behalf of clients who were allegedly sexually abused. He represented the plaintiffs in the sexual abuse cases against Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash. The filings made huge news at the time, but most of the cases were eventually dismissed because of how many years passed or quietly went away.
It’s important to note that absolutely no evidence whatsoever has been presented publicly at this point. Apart from this allegation, we have no reason to think Singer is a sexual predator or that he would give anyone underage drugs or alcohol. So, do not rush to judgment about what happened here. We’ll no doubt be hearing from everyone involved a whole lot more in the near future.
It’s too early to say whether or not this will affect Singer’s involvement with the X-Men franchise, but right now, that seems like the last thing any of us should be worried about.
