Steven
Seagal
raper
Steven Seagal accused of raping an 18-year-old — adding to decades of claims against the actor...
Who is Steven Seagal...
Steven Frederic Seagal (/sɪˈɡɑːl/; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician who holds American, Serbian, and Russian citizenship. Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan.
Story...
For decades, actor Steven Seagal has cultivated numerous images: the macho star of dozens of action movies, a martial arts expert turned vigilante cop, a would-be blues musician and an alleged Tibetan Buddhist guru leading New Age retreats.
In recent months, however, Seagal is facing scrutiny for an entirely different reason: as a Hollywood figure accused by multiple people of sexual misconduct.
On Monday, two more women came forward to voice claims that Seagal had sexually assaulted them, allegedly when one was 17 and the other 18. Both of them said they had struggled for years over whether to publicize their accusations but said they felt emboldened by other victims who had spoken out since last fall — including against Seagal — as part of the #MeToo movement.
...One, Regina Simons, alleged that Seagal had raped her in 1993 when she was 18. At an emotional news conference Monday, Simons — an extra in Seagal’s 1994 film “On Deadly Ground” — detailed how the actor had invited her to what was supposed to be a wrap party at his house more than two decades ago.
...She arrived to find no one else there, Simons said. Seagal reportedly told her everyone else had left the party, then led her to a bedroom.
“He closed the door and approached me from behind. He started kissing my neck and taking off my clothes,” Simons said Monday, at times taking deep breaths before she could continue. “I was in shock. I was completely caught off guard. Seagal was more than twice my size and twice my age. I was not sexually active nor had I ever been naked in front of a man before. I froze.”
Through tears, Simons described how Seagal allegedly took his robe off, then raped her.
...There was nothing consensual about this,” Simons said. “I couldn’t move and I felt as if I was watching my body from above. I felt tears coming down my face.”
When Seagal finished, Simons said she dressed as quickly as possible: “He put his hand on the door and asked me if I needed any money. I said no and ran for the door, got in my car and drove away. I cried the entire way home.”
...Despite Seagal calling her the next day and then making several attempts to contact her, Simons said she never spoke with him again.
As Simons spoke Monday, another woman, Faviola Dadis, stood to the side and nodded encouragingly. At one point, as Simons choked back tears, Dadis told her quietly, “You can do this.”
Dadis, too, had a story to tell about an alleged encounter with Seagal. When she was 17, she said, she auditioned for a role in a film about Genghis Khan that Seagal was directing. (The “vanity project” was never produced,.)
Dadis had recently moved from the Netherlands to Los Angeles and, at the time, was modeling and recording background vocals for a group of musicians.
“I was beyond excited to have a chance to audition for a role in one of his films because I had grown up admiring him,” she said Monday.
...Dadis said her initial meetings with Seagal took place in public and didn’t give her any cause for concern. The two bonded over shared interests like Buddhism and martial arts, she said, and “soon developed a friendly relationship via text and phone calls.”
At one point, Seagal invited Dadis for a “private” audition, she said.
“He explained that he would like to evaluate my figure to see if I would be suitable for the role,” Dadis said. “His assistant told me to arrive wearing a bikini or bra and panties underneath my clothing. As this is quite standard in the modeling industry, I agreed to do so.”
In retrospect, she said, there were several signs that had struck her as “strange.” Seagal had originally asked her to book a room at the W Hotel in Beverly Hills, but ended up booking it on his own after she told him she didn’t have the money to do so, Dadis said. He also asked to meet in the evening, she added.
Steven Frederic Seagal (/sɪˈɡɑːl/; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician who holds American, Serbian, and Russian citizenship. Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan.
For decades, actor Steven Seagal has cultivated numerous images: the macho star of dozens of action movies, a martial arts expert turned vigilante cop, a would-be blues musician and an alleged Tibetan Buddhist guru leading New Age retreats.
In recent months, however, Seagal is facing scrutiny for an entirely different reason: as a Hollywood figure accused by multiple people of sexual misconduct.
On Monday, two more women came forward to voice claims that Seagal had sexually assaulted them, allegedly when one was 17 and the other 18. Both of them said they had struggled for years over whether to publicize their accusations but said they felt emboldened by other victims who had spoken out since last fall — including against Seagal — as part of the #MeToo movement.