Two parents have accused actor Ezra Miller of grooming their now-18-year-old child from the age of 12 onward, filing a legal claim that alleges Miller displays “cult-like and psychologically manipulative, controlling behavior.”
According to TMZ, which broke the initial story (later corroborated by several outlets), Miller met Tokata Iron Eyes while visiting the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. At the time of their meeting, Tokata was 12 years old and Miller 23.
Tokata’s parents, attorney and activist Chase Iron Eyes and pediatrician Sara Jumping Eagle, filed the court documents for a protective order on Tuesday in Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court. Tokata, too, is a prominent activist, having been a youth leader in protest of the proposed route of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In the filing, the parents allege Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, “took an immediate and apparently innocent liking” when they met Tokata. They claim the relationship with Miller, now 29, later changed, and accused the actor of providing Tokata with alcohol and drugs when they were a teen, including marijuana and LSD.
In the legal claim, Tokata’s parents allege Miller exhibited a “pattern of corrupting a minor.”
They continue, writing that Miller also paid for Tokata to attend Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Massachusetts when they were 16 years old. According to People magazine, court documents allege Miller “would later use this against Tokata to create a sense of indebtedness.”
After dropping out of college in December 2021, Tokata’s parents claim Tokata went to stay with Miller at their home in Vermont. The parents claim when they visited Tokata, their child had no driver’s licence, bank cards or keys.
According to the court documents, after three weeks of “detoxifying” at home, Tokata reunited with Miller and travelled to Hawaii with the actor. In April, while in Hawaii, Miller was arrested several times on charges ranging from assault to disorderly conduct.
In this handout image provided by Hawaiʻi Police Department, Ezra Miller is seen in a police booking photo after their arrest for disorderly conduct and harassment on March 28, 2022 in Hilo, Hawaii.
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In the complaint, Tokata’s parents claim Miller “uses violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions and drugs to hold sway over a young adolescent Tokata.”
Miller has yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
On Monday, Tokata released a statement on Instagram, addressing “the assumptions made on my behalf by my family and friends regarding my stability and otherwise.”
“I dropped out of bard five months ago, my friend and comrade William passed shortly there after, my mind was incredibly impacted and I’ve needed space and time for the processing of grief. My comrade Ezra Miller for the entirety of the aforementioned era has only provided loving support and invaluable protection throughout this period of loss,” Tokata wrote on Instagram.
“My father and his allegations hold no weight and are frankly transphobic and based in the notion that I am somehow incapable of coherent thought or opposing opinions to those of my own kindred worrying about my well being. I am now aware of the severity of emotional and psychological manipulation I was made to endure while in my parents home.
“I am an adult and I deserve to feel authority in my own body.”
They added they are seeing a therapist to discuss their anxiety and “probable depression.”
Tokata’s parents told People magazine their child “doesn’t have a phone,” adding they doubted the statement came from Tokata.
People also reported that a judge signed Tokata’s parents’ request for a protective order, meaning Miller cannot contact or harass Tokata, Sara or Chase and cannot come within 100 yards of their residence. The order has yet to be served to Miller as the location of the actor and Tokata is unknown.
According to People, a hearing is scheduled for July 12.
In March and April, Miller had several run-ins with local Hawaii police. They were arrested and accused of throwing a chair and hitting a woman in the forehead at a get-together. Earlier, they were arrested for disorderly conduct at a karaoke bar in Hilo, Hawaii.
A couple on the island also accused the actor of threatening them in their hostel before stealing their belongings, including a passport and wallet (which contained various ID documents and a social security card).
The arrests triggered a meeting between DC executives to discuss the actor’s future involvement in movie projects where he would again be portraying Barry Allen/The Flash in several DC movies. All DC projects involving Miller were put on hold.
Miller is widely known for their roles as Patrick in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore in the Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts franchise.
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