A former co-worker has come forward with several serious allegations against Marvel actor Jeremy Renner, claiming he threatened to involve immigration officers and sent unsolicited explicit images.
Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou has made these allegations against Renner, known for his role in Hawkeye, through a series of posts on Instagram this week.
Zhou, a 34-year-old director who collaborated with Renner on a documentary and an animated film, stated she felt compelled to reveal ‘a truth I have been holding inside for too long.’ She claimed she lived in ‘fear’ for her safety for ‘months’ following a purported confrontation with the actor.
In her initial post, she claimed that the 54-year-old actor sent her ‘personal and intimate photographs of himself’ in June.
She further explained that she received two unexpected images, followed by a series of ‘unwanted / unsolicited pornographic images of himself via DM and WhatsApp’.
In a conversation with the Daily Mail, Zhou recounted that the two entered a romantic relationship during their work on two film projects, which subsequently soured over the Chronicles of Disney documentary.
She described an incident during a meeting at Renner’s Nevada home, where the situation reportedly escalated.
“I was discussing about the doc logistics, then he drank a bottle of wine alone and got angry and angry yelling for two hours,” she told the outlet.
“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.”
The publication provided alleged text exchanges between Zhou and her Disney colleagues during this episode, wherein she described him as ‘violent’.
A legal representative for Renner responded in a statement, declaring the allegations as ‘totally inaccurate and untrue.’
In her social media accounts, Zhou mentioned that Renner had agreed to the use of his image and likeness for the documentary but failed to address ‘false’ claims that it ‘was generated by AI’ and that there was no ‘professional collaboration’ with him.
“When I called him out privately about 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,” she stated.
“Such behavior is unacceptable and emblematic of the imbalance of power that continues to harm women in our industry.”
Referring to the post MeToo era, Zhou, whose work has been showcased in exhibitions like the Venice Biennale and the Sundance Film Festival, expressed her intent to highlight the ‘dark secrets of Hollywood’.
“The accusations being made by this individual are totally inaccurate and untrue,” reiterated a representative for Renner in a statement.
Efforts have also been made to reach Zhou’s representatives for their comments.