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Despite Sexual Assault Allegations, Ansel Elgort Continues to Shine in Hollywood

  • Sueleen Lam
  • Dec 22, 2021
  • 3 min read

Via: https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/west-side-story-epk-DF-06950_R3-copy.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1

Ansel Elgort is an American actor known for his roles in popular films such as The Fault in Our Stars, Baby Driver, and most recently, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story.


In the summer of 2020, a woman named Gabby posted a now deleted series of screenshots between her and Ansel. In this post, she shared her story of how she was sexually assaulted by him in 2014, and the traumatic aftermath that followed.


At the time of the incident, Gabby had just turned 17--the legal age of consent in New York, and Ansel was 20. Furthermore, she stated that she messaged him just two days before she turned 17, and he responded by asking for nude photos.


Ansel replied stating that he would “never and would never assault anyone”, and that the relationship was entirely consensual.


After Gabby posted about her experience, there were others that followed.


These girls were merely 14 to 16 years old when Ansel had allegedly contacted them asking for provocative photos, went on dates with them, and even sent them suggestive photos of himself.


The pattern is clear–the girls coming forward have had an evident age gap with Ansel, and some were under the age of consent at the time.


Allegations that have been brought to light after Gabby shared her stories have not yet been addressed by Ansel. Additionally, even after multiple unresolved testimonies, “West Side Story” did not remove him from the cast.


It’s important to note that the film was done shooting at the end of 2019, but they had pushed back the release date to 2021 due to COVID-19. This would’ve meant that they had ample time to replace him and reshoot the scenes that he was in.


However, this was an option that was completely dismissed.


This isn’t new in Hollywood. There have been instances where directors have completely reshot the scenes that actors have been in after sexual assault allegations; such Ed Westwick being replaced in a BBC drama by Christian Cooke.


Instead, their actions seemed to portray that they wanted to avoid the press altogether in order to keep the severity of the situation in the dark. Ansel Elgort has clearly been strategic with his media presence. He stopped posting on Twitter, and did not participate in any one-on-one interviews, feature profiles or cover stories.

The limited interviews that he has participated in have been in the presence of other actors, and have been short in nature-protecting him from questions that could have brought up the sexual assault allegations.


It seems that their tactics have worked, as his career seems to be untouched. Ansel Elgort has

been shooting for large productions throughout 2021, such as Tokyo Vice, a HBO Max series.


Sexual abuse and assault in the American film industry is unfortunately common. As we know, there have been many reported cases of sexual assault involving prominent names in this industry such as Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, and Woody Allen.


By Ansel Elgort and his team entirely dismissing the allegations and neglecting to address the situation, it’s evident where their priorities lie.


This is incredibly heartbreaking for the victims-constantly having to see their abuser in the media, hearing praise for their work, and witnessing their success. There is so much fear surrounding voicing a traumatic experience and seemingly going against an individual that has societal power.


Although the film has now been released, we can choose who we support. We can play a role in stopping the cycle of allowing abusers to ignore their victims.

 
 
 

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