Four women have accused Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto of criminal sexual conduct. The alleged incidents took place when the women were teenagers.
One woman says she was sexually assaulted in a motel bathroom at age 17. Another says Leto threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19 after she was left alone with him in a hotel room. A third says she had underage sex with him in California when she was 17 (statutory rape under state law); she claims Leto dismissed a discussion about the age of consent being 18. The fourth describes being groomed: Leto allegedly made repeated sexually explicit phone calls to her when she was 16 and at least once suggested they have sex. She later received a non-disclosure agreement (which the BBC has seen) but refused to sign it.
Four additional women say they also received strange, often highly sexual phone calls from Leto when they were younger. Another woman alleges that when she was 14, Leto made a lewd comment about her chest during an autograph signing and instructed a security guard to take her backstage; her mother confronted him and he repeated the comment.
In total, 10 women spoke to the BBC for the documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret. Nine of them are sharing their stories publicly for the first time. All say the encounters occurred between 2002 and 2016, when Leto was in his 30s and 40s (he is now 54).
The BBC says it has corroborated several accounts with friends and family who were told about the events at the time, and in some cases has seen supporting photos and messages. Two long-time members of Leto’s band crew described feeling uncomfortable about his interactions with teenage girls, including invitations backstage or to recording houses. One said the age gaps “were way too big.”
Leto did not respond to the BBC’s repeated approaches before publication. After the story appeared, his representatives issued a statement: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”
Leto has been a prominent actor since the 1990s (Oscar winner for Dallas Buyers Club, roles in Fight Club, Blade Runner 2049, Suicide Squad, and others) and fronts the band Thirty Seconds to Mars, which is scheduled to tour Europe and the UK next spring.
Allegations about Leto’s behaviour toward women have circulated online for years (the BBC counted more than 120 separate claims). Interest revived last year after a Los Angeles DJ publicly accused him of assaulting her at 17, followed by further claims in an Air Mail article that Leto also denied.
The four women who allege criminal conduct (given the pseudonyms Isabel, Alex, Clara and Etta) provided detailed accounts:
- Isabel (then 17, 2002) says she met Leto after showing him around a Las Vegas store and was invited to what turned out to be a “dingy” motel. She claims he called her into the bathroom while showering, kissed her, and used her hand to masturbate himself. She pulled away and left.
- Alex (then 19, 2013) says she was invited to an after-party following a London concert, then to a hotel room where only Leto was present. When she asked if she could sleep on a chaise longue, she says he repeatedly replied that she would wake up “with a dick in her ass.” She left and later texted a friend about the threat.
- Clara (then 17, 2006) says she had sex with Leto (then 34) at his California home after being approached by an associate backstage. She recalls him asking her to call him “daddy” and shrugging off discussion of California’s age of consent. She visited his home three or four times.
- Etta (then 16, 2014) says Leto obtained her email after meeting her at a modelling agency, then quickly turned phone conversations sexual, asking about her virginity, kinks, and suggesting they have sex. She later received an NDA she refused to sign. She and other women also reported similar explicit calls from men they suspect may have been Leto using different names.
Former crew members described being asked to invite only female models as VIP guests and noted young girls being brought backstage or to the band’s working house.
A version of the BBC documentary is available on YouTube. Leto continues to deny all the allegations.
