A former actor and model has come forward saying that George Takei sexually assaulted him 1981.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Scott R. Brunton says he was 23 when Takei took advantage of him while Brunton was beginning his career as a commercial actor and model.
Brunton said he was living in Hollywood in 1981 when he had met Takei, who was 43 or 44 at the time, at a bar, where they exchanged phone numbers. The two would call each other occasionally and run into one another at clubs, but after Brunton broke up with his then-boyfriend, Brunton said Takei invited him to dinner and the theater to console him.
After going out, the two went back to Takei’s condo for a drink, which is when Brunton said Takei drugged him and sexually assaulted him. Brunton said he was able to separate himself from the situation and eventually drove home:
“We have the drink and he asks if I would like another,” Brunton recalls. “And I said sure. So, I have the second one, and then all of a sudden, I begin feeling very disoriented and dizzy, and I thought I was going to pass out. I said I need to sit down and he said sit over here and he had the giant yellow beanbag chair. So I sat down in that and leaned my head back and I must have passed out.”
“The next thing I remember I was coming to and he had my pants down around my ankles and he was groping my crotch and trying to get my underwear off and feeling me up at the same time, trying to get his hands down my underwear,” Brunton says. “I came to and said, ‘What are you doing?!’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ He goes, ‘You need to relax. I am just trying to make you comfortable. Get comfortable.’ And I said, ‘No. I don’t want to do this.’ And I pushed him off and he said, ‘OK, fine.’ And I said I am going to go and he said, ‘If you feel you must. You’re in no condition to drive.’ I said, ‘I don’t care I want to go.’ So I managed to get my pants up and compose myself and I was just shocked. I walked out and went to my car until I felt well enough to drive home, and that was that.”
Four longtime friends of Brunton all confirmed that Brunton had confided in them about his assault years ago.
Brunton said that years later, he met up with Takei in Portland while Takei was on a book tour. He wanted to ask Takei why he assaulted him, but couldn’t bring himself to do it when they met for coffee. Brunton said he considered going to the media for years but didn’t out of a fear that he wouldn’t be believed. However, it was after Takei spoke out about Anthony Rapp’s allegation against Kevin Spacey that Brunton decided to come forward.
“When power is used in a non-consensual situation, it is a wrong,” Takei initially said about Rapp’s story in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “For Anthony Rapp, he has had to live with the memory of this experience of decades ago. For Kevin Spacey, who claims not to remember the incident, he was the older, dominant one who had his way.”
In a series of tweets published Saturday morning, Takei, now 80, denied knowing Brunton and said the events never happened.
“The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now. I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. But I do take these claims very seriously, and I wanted to provide my response thoughtfully and not out of the moment,” Takei wrote. “Right now it is a he said / he said situation, over alleged events nearly 40 years ago. But those that know me understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful.”
Read all of Takei’s response below:
Friends,
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 11, 2017
I'm writing to respond to the accusations made by Scott R. Bruton. I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them. /1
The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now. I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. /2
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 11, 2017
But I do take these claims very seriously, and I wanted to provide my response thoughtfully and not out of the moment. /3
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 11, 2017
Right now it is a he said / he said situation, over alleged events nearly 40 years ago. But those that know me understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful. /4
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 11, 2017
Brad, who is 100 percent beside me on this, as my life partner of more than 30 years and now my husband, stands fully by my side. I cannot tell you how vital it has been to have his unwavering support and love in these difficult times. /5
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 11, 2017
Thanks to many of you for all the kind words and trust. It means so much to us.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 11, 2017
Yours in gratitude,
George /end
H/T UPROXX