Kevin Connolly is calling his accuser a liar.
The Entourage star has spoken out after a costume designer came forward with claims that he sexually assaulted her at a wrap party in 2005.
On Wednesday, Gracie Cox’s story was published by The Daily Beast. She claimed that the actor cornered her during an event at the Butter lounge in New York City to celebrate his directorial debut, The Gardener of Eden.
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Cox, a South Carolina native who now works as a therapist for children, alleged that while the 46-year-old had been “mildly flirtatious” with her on set, she “laughed it off” and didn’t think much of it at the time. But Connolly’s behavior escalated at a party when the two were away from the crowd, according to Gracie, who was 29 at the time.
[Warning: Description of sexual assault.]
She told the publication:
“We were at the party and I don’t think I’d been there for more than an hour or so when Kevin approached me and asked if I’d go with him for a smoke… He led me down a hall to what I guess was the VIP lounge area. As soon as we were alone in that area, he started to kiss me. I didn’t know how to respond — but before I could even think about what to do about it, he pulled me into one of these little side [booths], and pulled down my pants, and turned me around, and within no time was inside of me. I was just in shock.”
Cox claimed that the actor, who was not wearing a condom, then threw a pillow at her after he finished and told her to “clean” herself up.
She added:
“He then told me that he was going to leave and to wait a few minutes, because he didn’t want anyone to see us together.”
Classy.
Hours after the article was published, the He’s Just Not That Into actor, who has not been charged in the alleged attack, responded to the claims in a statement issued by his attorney Marty Singer. Unsurprisingly, he “adamantly denies” assaulting Cox while chalking the encounter up to a “lack of professionalism” on his part.
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The statement read:
“Kevin strongly supports victims of sexual assault and believes their claims should always be heard. As someone who has worked in this industry for four decades, he has treated people with nothing but respect and has maintained a stellar reputation. Therefore, he was completely shocked to learn of the allegations made by Gracie Cox from a wrap party in 2005. Kevin acknowledges the lack of professionalism on his part, but he adamantly denies that it was anything other than a mutual consensual encounter.”
Gracie, for her part, said she regrets not getting a rape kit done after the alleged incident, but didn’t file a report because she was concerned about her future in the industry at the time. The report states that she since reached out to attorney Gloria Allred for help, but was turned away because the statute of limitations had passed.
She said she’s no longer scared of telling her side of the story and wants it to be known that Connolly is “dangerous.”
Thoughts??
[Image via FayesVision/WENN]
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