Director Bryan Singer has denied an allegation that he raped a 17-year-old boy in 2003.
A lawsuit was filed against the film maker on Thursday (7 December), which alleges he sexually abused Cesar Sanchez-Guzman at a yacht party.
The legal papers claim the director led the teenager into a bedroom under the pretense of giving him a tour of the yacht, before locking the door and forcing him to perform oral sex on him. He allegedly then went on to rape Sanchez-Guzman.
“Later, Bryan Singer approached Cesar and told him that he was a producer in Hollywood and that he could help Cesar get into acting as long as Cesar never said anything about the incident,” the lawsuit reads (via Variety).
“He then told Cesar that no one would believe him if he ever reported the incident, and that he could hire people who are capable of ruining someone’s reputation.”
Singer’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, has since issued a statement to TMZ, in which he “categorically denies these allegations and will vehemently defend this lawsuit to the very end”.
“When Sanchez-Guzman filed for bankruptcy only a few years ago, he failed to disclose this alleged claim when he was supposed to identify all of his assets, but conveniently, now that the bankruptcy court discharged all of his debts, he is able to recall the alleged events,” Brettler said.
“The attorney behind this lawsuit is the same lawyer who represented Michael Egan, the convicted felon who sued Bryan Singer in 2014. In the end, Egan was forced to dismiss that case once the facts came out and his story completely fell apart.”
The lawsuit comes after Bryan was fired as the director of the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic.
Twentieth Century Fox confirmed the news in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, with the BBC later claiming he was dropped due to “unreliable behaviour”.
There were reports he had clashed with lead star Rami Malek, and also failed to show up for filming on more than one occasion - both of which he denied in a statement.
He added: “I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, but Fox would not permit me to do so because I needed to temporarily put my health, and the health of my loved ones, first.”