Marvel actor Jeremy Renner has reacted to claims that he sent unsolicited explicit photographs to a Chinese film collaborator and threatened to report her to immigration. Renner described these allegations as ‘false, outrageous and highly defamatory’.
Recently, Chinese director Yi Zhou made several accusations against Renner through a series of Instagram posts.
The 34-year-old director, who alleges collaboration with Renner on a documentary and animated film, claimed she lived in ‘fear’ of him for ‘months’ following an alleged incident at his residence, prompting her to ‘share a truth I have been holding inside for too long’.
In her initial post, Zhou alleged that the 54-year-old star reached out to her in June with ‘personal and intimate photographs of himself’ that were unexpected.
She further claimed this was followed by a ‘string of unwanted / unsolicited pornographic images of himself via DM and WhatsApp’.
“After having calls and text discussions he allured me and sold me he [was] looking for a relation and of course seduced / flatted [sic] that he was a Hollywood star fantasizing and loving me so much I believed in him,” she stated.
Zhou alleged their relationship became romantic, indicating that ‘we have been in a relationship,’ and claimed Renner had ‘found new love’ with her.
“The power of love and embarked on the most difficult months + 2 Oscar running projects I kindly invited him to be part,” she mentioned.
In a conversation with the Daily Mail, Zhou elaborated on their ‘relationship’.
She alleged that tensions arose during the Chronicles of Disney documentary, as she said: “I was discussing about the doc logistics, then he drank a bottle of wine alone and got angry and angry yelling for two hours.
“I had to location share to my team, my parents and Disney colleagues in case something happens to me they know where I am.
“I had to lock myself in a room to be safe praying he would not come into the room at night as he was really angry. I did not say a word, I was so scared for my life.”
In her social media posts, Zhou accused Renner of not promoting their joint work and allowing rumors to spread that their project was AI-generated.
She also claimed that when she confronted him regarding his ‘past misconduct and asked him to behave properly, to respect me as a woman and as a filmmaker, he threatened to call immigration/ICE on me, an act that deeply shocked and frightened me’.
Representatives for Renner have rejected all accusations.
“The accusations being made by this individual are totally inaccurate and untrue,” a representative for Renner stated.
In a statement to PEOPLE on November 7, Renner’s lawyer Marty Singer termed the allegations ‘false, outrageous and highly defamatory.’
Singer argued that Zhou is concocting false claims after Renner ‘rejected her romantic advances’ and did not endorse her projects online, asserting that the two had a ‘brief consensual encounter’ once.
“The true facts are that Ms. Zhou has relentlessly and aggressively harassed and pursued my client for months with no reciprocation on my client’s part, other than a single brief encounter on July 12, 2025,” Singer stated.
Renner’s legal team reportedly dispatched a cease-and-desist letter, which was obtained by PEOPLE.
The letter supposedly instructs Zhou to cease all ‘defamatory communications’ and refrain from republishing ‘false, fabricated and salacious lies’.
It accuses Zhou of ‘aggressively pursuing a sexual/romantic/sexting relationship’ and then ‘manufacturing fake and outlandish claims…to generate publicity’ for her work.
“I believe the Me Too movement is not over and we need to fight more,” Zhou expressed to PEOPLE in a statement.