Star Trek's George Takei accused of sexual assault in 1981
Actor George Takei, best known for his role in Star Trek, was accused of sexual assault in a Hollywood Reporter story published Friday night. This is the latest in a string of similar recent accusations against prominent figures in media and politics.
Takei's accuser is a former actor and model named Scott R. Brunton who says he met Takei in 1981. Brunton alleges that while sharing a drink at Takei's apartment, he began to feel "very disoriented and dizzy." He passed out and awoke to find Takei "had my pants down around my ankles and he was groping my crotch and trying to get my underwear off." Brunton then left the apartment over Takei's protests.
Takei categorically denied the allegations in a tweeted statement Saturday, thanking his husband and fans for their support:
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The Hollywood Reporter spoke to four of Brunton's friends, all of whom said on the record he told them this story "years ago."
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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