The 'Deadpool 2' star says he has forgiven Adam Venit for allegedly groping him in 2016, but admits that he fears the Hollywood agent's extensive connections will affect his career.
- May 23, 2018
AceShowbiz - Terry Crews has forgiven the Hollywood agent who allegedly groped him.
The American football player turned action star spoke out last year after the #MeToo campaign prompted him to go public with his own experience of harassment. He alleged talent agency executive Adam Venit grabbed and squeezed his genitals at a party in 2016. Venit claimed the incident was merely a case of drunken horseplay.
He tried to take Venit to court but his case was dismissed in March as it exceeded California's the statute of limitations - as a complaint leading to a misdemeanour charge must be filed within a year.
Despite claiming the alleged grope affected his mental health, Crews now says he's forgiven the agent. However, he still believes Venit should face repercussions to ensure harassers do not go unpunished.
"The silence allows this stuff to breathe and grow and I want to shine a light on it because it's everywhere," he tells British newspaper The Guardian. "It was in sports, in business, in politics, in religion. Anywhere there's success, there's temptation. I tell people this is not a witch hunt, it's a fumigation. And I'm going to tell you something right now: I have forgiven Adam Venit. That's the only way I can be free. He messed up. We all messed up. But we have to be held accountable."
Although Venit was suspended from his role at William Morris Endeavor (WME), he returned to work after a month having been demoted.
Crews also claims his producer on "The Expendables", Avi Lerner, pressured him to drop his complaint against the exec - as he was acting as his co-star Sylvester Stallone's agent. Despite admitting work hasn't dried up since he went public, the 49-year-old fears Venit's extensive connections will affect his career in the long run.
The "Deadpool 2" star adds, "I'm getting support now, which is awesome, but what happens in two years? What happens in three years when no one remembers, when people have all moved on?"
