Washington, DC [US], November 9 : 'Avengers' actor Jeremy Renner has reportedly dismissed the harassment claims made by director Yi Zhou, describing them as "totally inaccurate and untrue".
A representative for Renner told Variety, "The allegations being made are totally inaccurate and untrue." Renner's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
Zhou, 37, first levied claims against Renner on Monday with a series of Instagram posts, including the hashtags "#Cancel" and "#CancelJeremyRenner." Zhou claims she began dating Renner after he contacted her in June by sending "a string of unwanted/unsolicited pornographic images of himself via DM and Whatsapp" and then "seduced" her by "loving me so much I believed in him/the power of love." She also claims that she has been contacted and "destroyed by a set-up of smear fan campaigns," as reported by Variety.
"This experience really shows the dark side of Hollywood and the smear campaign to deter women and Asian female filmmakers and women in general," Zhou wrote in another post. "I'm appalled but happy to read also many support from friends and media that will continue to uncover domestic abuse, abuse of women and the unwanted, unsolicited porn attack against innocent young women."
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Zhou claimed that on the evening of August 20, she met with Renner to discuss a documentary project.
Zhou characterised Renner as "violent" in a text that she claims to have sent to another party on the evening. Zhou alleged that she resorted to locking herself in a room out of fear, reported Variety.
Before these allegations surfaced, Renner and Zhou were reported to be collaborating on multiple projects. Zhou is directing the documentary Chronicles of Disney, exploring the legacy and history of the entertainment studio. Renner is featured in the documentary as a talking head alongside industry professionals, including costume designer Mark Bridges and makeup artist Bill Corso. The film is independently produced and is not affiliated with Disney itself.
Renner is also a voice actor in Zhou's animated project Stardust Future: Stars and Scars, which claims to be the first animated feature fully created using artificial intelligence.
Renner, known for his roles in the Avengers series, The Hurt Locker, and Tag, has remained active in both live-action and voice acting projects over the past few years.
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