Director Bryan Singer is being sued for raping a 17-year-old boy
Alleged incident took place at a yacht party in Seattle in 2003.
Bryan Singer, director of The Usual Suspects and multiple X-Men movies, is being sued for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old boy in 2003. Cesar Sanchez-Guzman's claim that he was sexually assaulted at a yacht party has been denied by the filmmaker.
According to court documents the pair were attending a yacht party populated primarily by "young gay males in the Seattle area" when Singer, then 37 or 38, took Guzman on a tour of the vessel.
It is then alleged that Singer led the minor into a room and "forced Cesar to the floor, shoved Cesar's face against his crotch area and demanded Cesar perform oral sex on him."
Guzman says he "pleaded with [Singer] to stop" throughout the assault.
The director is claimed to have told Guzman that he was a "producer in Hollywood and that he could help Cesar get into acting as long as Cesar never said anything about the incident.
"He then told Cesar that no one would believe him if he ever reported the incident, and that he could hire people who are capable of ruining someone's reputation."
A representative for Singer issued a statement to People Magazine, saying: "Bryan categorically denies these allegations and will vehemently defend this lawsuit to the very end."
Guzman claims the alleged incident caused him to experience "severe psychological, mental and emotional injuries, shame, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life."
This is not the first time Singer has been accused of sexual assault. In 1997 a 14-year-old actor accused him of asking him and other minors to film scenes naked for The Usual Suspects follow-up Apt Pupil. However the lawsuit was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
In 2014, actor and model Michael Egan accused Singer of drugging and raping him. The director vehemently denied the allegations, calling them "outrageous, vicious and completely false," and planned to countersue.
Egan later asked that the lawsuit be withdrawn.
Another lawsuit was filed that same year on behalf of an anonymous British man who claims acts of "gender violence" were committed against him by Singer and producer Gary Goddard around the time of Superman Returns' London premiere in 2006.
The suit was later dismissed at the accuser's request.
The latest suit comes shortly after 20th Century Fox fired Singer from his most recent project - Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. He was fired for not showing up on set, which he claims was due to the ill health of one of his parents.
