In a month that has already seen Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K. and Brett Ratner accused of doing some pretty terrible things, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that yet another disturbing report has come out against a notable celebrity, this time, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore.
The incident isn’t recent, it was in 2003, but was brought back into light by THR:
Actor Tom Sizemore was told to leave a Utah film set in 2003 after an 11-year-old actress told her mother that he had touched her genitals, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Months later, he returned for reshoots in Malibu after her parents declined to press charges. The incident has never been revealed publicly.
When contacted, the now 26-year-old former actress, whom THR is not identifying at her request, declined to address the matter except to note that she’s recently hired a lawyer to explore legal action against the actor as well as her parents. Sizemore declined to address the situation. “Our position is ‘no comment,'” says his agent Stephen Rice.
THR spoke to a dozen people involved with the production of the film, a crime thriller called Born Killers (shot as Piggy Banks). They confirmed Sizemore was sent home over the alleged incident. According to these cast- and crewmembers, rumors swirled and emotions rose on set over what had allegedly transpired.
Sizemore, notorious for his long rap sheet that includes charges of drug use and battery against women, has not previously been accused of molestation. An actor with a tough-guy image then at the height of his scandal-driven infamy, when the Utah incident occurred he’d recently been convicted of physically abusing and harassing his ex-girlfriend, the former “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss.
Sizemore is said to have denied the young actress’ claim as soon as he was confronted with it. His management firm Untitled and talent agency CAA quietly dropped him shortly afterward. He’s currently repped by the boutique firm Pantheon.
It’s a similar set of circumstances to director/producer Bryan Singer, who has seen his disturbing past allegations brought back into the spotlight recently. Though Sizemore was never convicted, it is reminiscent of the case involving Jeepers Creepers director Victor Salva, who was actually convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy and even filming it – yet was allowed to work in the industry again. Disney even hired him to direct a film where children were on set (1995’s Powder).
Salva apparently still doesn’t feel much regret about his actions, as this year’s Jeepers Creepers 3 features a line that tries to justify child molestation.
The difference now is that it in today’s world, things like this won’t go unnoticed like they would have before because things like Facebook and Twitter exist. As this month has shown, we really don’t know what to expect next when it comes to Hollywood, but it’s troubling that such disturbing allegations are becoming less and less of a surprise.