Jared Leto is facing allegations of sexual misconduct from several women, including some who were teens at the time.
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman has been accused of inappropriate behaviour by nine women over a period of two decades.
These claims involve alleged victims who say they were teenagers when the incidents occurred.
According to an exposé published by Air Mail, the matter has ‘been an open secret for a long time.’
Representatives for the 53-year-old House of Gucci star have denied all the accusations to the publication.
The claims against Leto resurfaced after a Los Angeles-based DJ, Allie Teilz, re-shared a post on Facebook from 2012 to her Instagram Story.
In it, the 30-year-old alleged she was assaulted by the star when she was 17.
She alleges that Leto ‘knew’ how old she was but ‘didn’t care’.
‘You’re not really in LA until Jared Leto tries to force himself on you backstage… in a kilt… And a snow hat,’ she wrote.
‘I was assaulted and traumatized by this creep when I was 17.’
Teilz also described Leto’s actions as ‘predatory, terrifying and unacceptable.’
An unnamed alleged second victim also told Air Mail that she was 16 when Leto briefly spoke with her at Urth Caffé in LA.
Taking place in 2006, she alleges he got her phone number and called her days later. During the call, she says he sounded ‘weird’.
‘I don’t know if he was on drugs or what… it was the weirdest, grossest voice… [but] for me, it’s Jared, you know?’
Claiming they would speak on the phone late at night, she says their conversations became ‘sexual’, with Leto asking if she’d ‘ever had a boyfriend’ and questions such as, ‘Have you ever sucked a d**k?’
A third accuser, Laura La Rue, 33, says she met Leto in 2008 at an animal rights event.
At the time, he was 36 and she was 16. She says Leto asked what her age was, to which she responded.
Despite knowing she was 16, she claims Leto still asked for her phone number, later inviting her over to his home in LA.
There, he allegedly ‘flirted’ with and ‘teased’ her the ‘whole time’.
The model also claims that Leto was fully naked at one point and walked into the room as if it were ‘normal’.
‘I thought maybe this was just what adult men do.’
A fourth woman, also anonymous, has said Leto approached her at an 18+ club when she was 20, where his assistant asked for her number.
She said they ‘hook[ed] up a little’ at the nightclub and she visited his home several times afterwards.
Echoing the second victim’s descriptions, she also said Leto was ‘weird’.
‘I know some people are kinky, and that’s fine,’ she reasoned, but said ‘his kind of kink … just didn’t feel right.’
Furthermore, a fifth alleged victim has said she and Leto exchanged flirtatious messages while she was underage.
She allegedly also visited his home, where he would ask her questions of a sexual nature, including, ‘Do any of the little boys you hang out with f**k you?’
After she turned 18, their relationship was allegedly taken to another level.
At one point, Leto is said to have ‘pulled his penis out and started masturbating’.
She says he put her hand on his penis and told her: ‘I want you to spit on it.’
In the original Air Mail piece, it is claimed that Leto was ‘known’ for taking an interest in younger women.
One woman told the outlet: ‘I remember being so physically ill to the point of throwing up when I passed billboards … for his films, and just wondering how everybody in LA knows.’
A rep for Leto said to Air Mail: ‘Their (the women’s) communications contain nothing sexual or inappropriate and Ms. La Rue later applied to work as Mr. Leto’s personal assistant, further underscoring the absence of anything inappropriate in any of their interactions.’
La Rue denies ever applying to be Leto’s PA.
The actor’s publicist also defends that he ‘has not had a drink or used drugs in over 35 years’, following claims that he hosted parties at his mansion attended by approximately 60 ‘very young women to four or five men’.
It’s claimed guests were encouraged to go skinny dipping at the events.
Leto, now an Academy Award and Golden Globe winner, first achieved recognition in 1994 for his role as Jordan Catalano in the teen drama television series My So-Called Life.
He went on to have supporting roles in Fight Club (1999), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and American Psycho (2000), before turning his focus to music.
Leto returned to acting with the 2002 thriller Panic Room and had subsequent roles in major blockbusters Suicide Squad (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
Meanwhile, in 1998, he formed Thirty Seconds to Mars, a band that has gone on to sell 15million records worldwide.
Relationship-wise, Leto was married to actress Cameron Diaz from 1999 to 2003, followed by Russian model Valery Kaufman from 2015 to 2022.
Reps for Jared Leto have been contacted for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.