Ansel Elgort, star of the upcoming HBO Max drama series Tokyo Vice and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, has issued a statement after he was accused by a woman of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
The woman, who identified herself only as Gabby, released a lengthy statement on Twitter Friday with the caption “My story with Ansel Elgort”, detailing the alleged 2014 assault. “It was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn’t want to do it the only words that came out of his mouth were ‘we need to break you in,’” she wrote.
In an Instagram post Saturday, Elgort said that in 2014, “Gabby and I had a brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship, insisting that “her descriptions of events is simply not what happened” and that “I have never and would never assault anyone.”
Gabby, whose Twitter account has since been deleted, said she direct-messaged Elgort two days before her 17th birthday, expecting him not to respond, but he did, sending her his personal SnapChat account and a request for nude photos. She also posted a photo of what appeared to be her sitting next to Elgort, along with a screenshot of she said was their direct message exchange.
“Years later I have PTSD, I have panic attacks I go to therapy,” she wrote, also sharing a photo of what appears to be her and Elgort, and a screenshot of their direct messaging conversation.
“I WAS SO YOUNG AND HE KNEW THAT,” she continued. “He as well said stuff like, ‘you’re going to be such a beautiful young lady when you’re older.‘”
She said she came forward now because she’s “ready to talk about it and finally heal.” (You can see a screen shot of her post below.)
In his response, the only thing Etgort apologized for was not handling the breakup well by stopping to respond to Gabby.
“As I look back at my attitude, I am disgusted and deeply ashamed of the way I acted. I am truly sorry,” he wrote. “I know I must continue to reflect, learn, and work to grow in empathy.”
Elgort, known for his roles in Baby Driver and the Divergent series, stars as Tony in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, one of Disney’s major planned releases for the holiday season, and is the lead of Tokyo Vice, one of HBO Max’s highest-profile original series. He was most recently seen starring alongside Nicole Kidman in The Goldfinch, Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. HBO Max and Disney have not reacted to the controversy.
