Riverdale star Cole Sprouse has denied an allegation of sexual assault, saying he and his cast mates have been “falsely accused” by anonymous Twitter users.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Monday, the 27-year-old encouraged fans to look into the “factually untrue” accusation, saying that false allegations of abuse “do tremendous damage to victims of actual assault.”
“This seems to be the latest claim in a series of incidents seeking to baselessly cancel my cast mates and me,” he added.
Earlier in the day, a Twitter user with the handle @Victori66680029 alleged that Sprouse had sexually assaulted her at a party in 2013.
The user alleged the actor became “aggressive” and put his hands “under my shirt and started fondling my breasts.”
“I told him multiple times to stop, he wouldn’t listen,” the user claimed.
Sprouse said he took the accusation seriously, and will be “working with the right teams to get to the root of it.”
“I would never seek to silence anybody,” he added.
This seems to be the latest claim in a series of incidents seeking to baselessly cancel my cast mates and me.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) June 22, 2020
Sprouse’s co-star Lili Reinhart said the cast is “looking into taking legal action” after other Twitter accounts publicly accused her, along with Riverdale stars KJ Apa and Vanessa Morgan, of sexual harassment and assault.
The accounts which levelled those claims have either been deleted or suspended by Twitter. Screenshots taken beforehand appear to show one account claiming “Do you see how easy it is to lie and you guys will believe it?”
I have always taken sexual assault allegations seriously. But it was proven that this account was created specifically to create false stories about me and my cast. I can’t think of something more twisted than lying about sexual assault. It invalidates the men and women who are- https://t.co/qcZMXYPNLQ
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 22, 2020
We are looking into taking legal action. This kind of sick behavior only harms true survivors. This was incredibly triggering for me and scary because I’ve always supported survivors and believed them.
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 22, 2020
Madelaine Petsch, another Riverdale star, retweeted Sprouse’s message and shared her support for her castmates.
“As someone who has been sexually assaulted, I am deeply deeply disturbed that anyone thinks that it is okay to falsely accuse someone of sexual assault,” she wrote.
“This is why real assault allegations can sometimes not be taken seriously, you should be ashamed. This is disgusting.”
Camila Mendes, who also appears on the show, added her support for her cast mates Tuesday morning.
“It’s incredibly destructive to falsely accuse people of sexual assault,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.
“Whatever point this person was trying to make about how quickly people believe what they read, it was not worth damaging the integrity of the Me Too movement.”
Those statements come days after singer Justin Bieber publicly denied an allegation of sexual assault dating back to 2014.
Separately, actor Ansel Elgort denied an allegation of sexual assault levelled by a fan, claiming their relationship “legal and entirely consensual”.
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
