Hermosa Beach police are investigating a report of sexual misconduct filed by True Blood actress Sarah Scott, who alleged she was “sexually violated while at work” in May by former costar Kip Pardue.
“I can confirm that she filed a crime report and that our detectives are currently investigating the incident,” police Sgt. Mick Gaglia told The Times.
Scott, 35, accused Pardue of placing her hand on his genitals while they were shooting a post-coital scene for a TV pilot and alleged that he later masturbated in front of her in his dressing room, an incident first reported by The Times over the weekend.
She filed the police report in August, just months after the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements captured the attention of the nation and led to the professional demise of many in Hollywood and beyond.
Scott told The Times that, even though she had followed all the protocols for reporting misconduct that had been touted by the entertainment industry, including filing a member-to-member complaint with SAG-AFTRA in June, she felt stymied and believed she had “very little control in truly preventing this from happening to anyone else.”
Pardue’s representative, David Shane, declined to comment on the investigation when reached by The Times on Wednesday.
The actor, who stars in Marvel’s Hulu series The Runaways, previously apologised for placing Scott’s hand on his penis during their scene together. But he denied everything that the actress alleged happened after the scene was completed.
“I clearly misread the situation during a sex scene on set and have apologised to Sarah,” Pardue, 43, said in an earlier statement from Shane. “I never intended to offend her in any way and deeply regret my actions and have learned from my behavior.”
Marvel and Hulu declined to comment on the investigation.
