Actor Terry Crews Opens Up to the Senate About Alleged Sexual Assault

Actor Terry Crews told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that sexual misconduct — and the covering up of such illegal acts — is still alive and well in Hollywood.

The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star revealed that he turned down a role in the upcoming “The Expendables 4” — he appeared in the first three films — because of threats he received.

The threats were allegedly connected to Crews’ going public last year about being groped and harassed at a party by an agent.

“I have never felt more emasculated, more objectified. I was horrified,” Crews told “Good Morning America” last year. “It’s so bizarre. I wake up every morning wondering, ‘Did this really happen?'”

Regarding “Expendables 4,” Crews claims a producer got in contact with his manager and asked Crews to stay quiet about his claims of alleged assault — or “there would be trouble.”

Crews said he would not have a part in the project.

“No. Simply because this same producer is under his own … investigation. Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on [it]. Am I going to be a part of this, or am I gonna take a stand, and there are projects I had to turn down,” he said.

Considering Crews’ physical size, many people are surprised about his allegations of physical assault, but the actor says he is trying to break boundaries and let people know the realities that exist in Hollywood.

The actor at the time said he feared any retaliation against his assaulter would derail his career.

Crews’ appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday was in partnership with Rise, a group founded by Amanda Nguyen. Rise helped get the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act signed into law in 2016. Nguyen, a rape survivor herself, also testified on Tuesday.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.