CW: Sexual assault
U.S. actor/musician Jared Leto has denied sexual misconduct claims made by four women.
The alleged victims told the BBC the Oscar-winner assaulted them when they were teenagers.
Leto called the claims “categorically false”.
Here’s what you need to know.
Context
Leto’s performance in the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club won him an Academy Award for best supporting actor.
He’s also the lead singer for rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.
‘Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret’ aired in the UK on Wednesday night, local time.
The BBC doco features several women who described encounters that took place between 2002 and 2016.
One of the women said she was sexually assaulted in a motel bathroom when she was 17.
Another said Leto threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19.
A third said she had underage sex with the star in California when she was 17, which would be classified as statutory rape.
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A fourth woman said Leto made sexually explicit phone calls to her when she was 16.
Now 54, Leto would have been in his 30s or 40s at the time of the alleged assaults.
Other claims
According to the BBC, five other alleged victims described “strange and often very sexual phone calls” from Leto.
Four of them were teenagers at the time.
The British broadcaster said it had corroborated a number of the women’s accounts with friends and family who were told about the encounters with Leto at the time.
“In some cases, we have also seen pictures and messages that support the women's accounts,” the BBC said.
Response
Since the BBC documentary aired, Leto has denied the sexual misconduct claims.
In a written statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, he said: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false”.
It comes after nine women accused Leto of inappropriate behaviour in a 2025 piece by U.S. outlet Air Mail.
The performer denied all allegations at the time.
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