Jared Leto is denying explosive claims made in a new BBC documentary, with women alleging the award-winning actor sexually assaulted them when they were teenagers and one describing the experience as “scary.”
Keep reading to know more.
The BBC documentary, Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, examines allegations spanning more than a decade against the Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman. The women describe encounters they say took place between 2002 and 2016, and according to the broadcaster, nine of them were speaking publicly for the first time.
Several of the accusations involve claims that the women were underage when they first encountered the star of the Dallas Buyers Club.
Not a ‘well-adjusted man’
Among the allegations is the account of a woman, known as “Clara,” who said she was “so naive and vulnerable” when she had sex with Leto at his California home while he was 34, and she was only 17.
“It wasn’t a huge concern for him,” Clara told the BBC. “He told me, ‘I would like you to call me daddy.’ And it was either pretend to be a little girl or ‘my little girl.’”
“It was only as time went on that I realised more and more how scary that really was,” she shared.
Because California’s age of consent is 18, the alleged encounter could constitute statutory rape if proven.
“There is no well-adjusted man in his 30s who’s going to look at a teenager and think…she would be a great partner,” Clara added.
Sexual grooming
Elsewhere in the documentary, another woman alleged she was sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a “dingy gross motel” when she was 17.
“Most of my life I had viewed this event as, I was a stupid girl… and so this bad thing happened,” said “Isabel,” who’s now in her 40s.
A third claimed the Tron: Apres star threatened to assault her when she was 19, while “Etta” alleged he groomed her through repeated sexually explicit phone calls after first making contact when she was 16. She told the BBC he probed her during these calls, asking questions like, “Are you a virgin? Do you have any kinks?”
“He did at least once mention him and I having sex at some point,” Etta said in the documentary, adding the conversations made her “nervous,” “anxious” and “uncomfortable.”
The report also includes accounts from six other women describing encounters with the singer during the same period, though those allegations do not involve the same criminal accusations.
‘One of the worst people’
In addition to the women’s accounts, the BBC interviewed people who previously worked with Leto and the rock band he fronts, several of whom spoke anonymously.
One former crew member, identified only as Brad, alleged that staff members were expected to invite young girls backstage after concerts so the Golden Globe winner could meet them privately in his dressing room.
“And he [Leto] would talk to them in his dressing room. I couldn’t tell you what happened from there,” said the ex-crew member said, who described the American Psycho star as “one of the worst people I’ve ever worked for in any shape or form.”
Leto denies accusations
After the documentary’s release, the singer has issued a statement denying the allegations.
“I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life,” the actor said in a statement shared with multiple outlets, including People. “These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”
The BBC reported that Leto did not respond directly to its requests for comment before the documentary aired.
Repeat offender?
The BBC documentary is the latest report to examine allegations surrounding Leto, with questions about his interactions with teenage girls surfacing years before the latest investigation.
In 2005, the New York Post published an article titled “Jared Leto shows he’s a teen player,” with the opening line, “Jared Leto likes ’em young.”
Citing an anonymous source, the report claimed the then-33-year-old actor “has been approaching all the girls” from modeling agencies, “and inviting them to his shows.”
“Girls from IMG, Elite, Next and Women are staying there, and Jared has been hitting on all of them,” the tipster told the newspaper. “He’s a serial texter. He is constantly texting these other 16 and 17-year-old girls. It’s really kind of creepy.”
Two decades later, similar allegations resurfaced in a June 2025 Air Mail investigation, in which nine women accused Leto of sexual misconduct. Several of the women alleged they were underage during their interactions with the actor.
A spokesperson for Leto denied those accusations, saying in a statement: “All of the allegations are expressly denied.”
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