Entourage star Kevin Connolly has been accused of sexual assault stemming from an incident that occurred in 2005. The allegations come from Gracie Cox, a former assistant costumer designer who worked with Connolly on his directorial debut, The Gardener of Eden.
In a lengthy report from The Daily Beast, Grace Cox alleges that the now-46-year-old Kevin Connolly raped her during the wrap party for the film back in 2005. Up to that point, the two had reportedly been flirting with each other while working together. Cox, who was 29 at the time, claims the incident began when Connolly asked her to have a smoke with him during the party:
My department had gone out to dinner prior to the party, compliments of [Westcott]. We were at the party and I don’t think I’d been there for more than an hour or so when Kevin [Connolly] approached me and asked if I’d go with him for a smoke.
Cox says that at that point in the evening she was tipsy and that after Connolly led her down a hallway to what she believes was a VIP room, he began to kiss her and proceeded to pull down her pants:
I didn’t smoke but didn’t want to seem rude. This was the first social setting I’d been in with him, other than being on set. He led me down a hall to what I guess was the VIP lounge area. As soon as we were alone in that area, he started to kiss me. I didn’t know how to respond—but before I could even think about what to do about it, he pulled me into one of these little side [booths], and pulled down my pants, and turned me around, and within no time was inside of me. I was just in shock.
Cox went on to say that she didn’t feel that she had a chance to “object or resist” Connolly’s alleged advances and that she was caught “completely off-guard” by the situation.
In the same article, Connolly refuted her account of the incident through his lawyer, Marty Singer. In a statement, Singer states that Connolly supports sexual assault victims and was shocked to hear Cox's claims, as he says their encounter was consensual:
Kevin strongly supports victims of sexual assault and believes their claims should always be heard. As someone who has worked in this industry for four decades, he has treated people with nothing but respect and has maintained a stellar reputation. Therefore, he was completely shocked to learn of the allegations made by Gracie Cox from a wrap party in 2005. The incident with Ms. Cox was consensual, and he categorically denies any claim that it was assault… Kevin completely understands Amy’s displeasure with the consensual act that transpired between Kevin and Gracie 15 years ago, after production had wrapped and they were no longer working together on the movie. Kevin acknowledges the lack of professionalism on his part, but he adamantly denies that it was anything other than a mutual consensual encounter.
This isn't the first time these allegations against Connolly have been brought up, as Cox originally opened up about the situation in 2017, not long after the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein were reported. Cox explained that she wanted to speak out again because she wants him to "not get away with it any longer," and added she wants it "to be known that he is dangerous." As of right now, Connolly's lawyer has not released any further statements.
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