Terry Crews Explains Why He Didn’t Initially Report His Alleged Sexual Assault to Police

The New Yorker and New York Times‘ 2017 bombshell reports about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct sparked an unprecedented movement. Many entertainment figures, most whom were women, began sharing stories about the alleged abuse they endured at the hands of men in Hollywood. This movement, dubbed #MeToo, inspired Terry Crews to go public with his own accusations.

The 50-year-old actor claimed William Morris agent Adam Venit had sexually assaulted him a party in 2016; however, Crews said he didn’t initially report the incident to authorities because he feared no one would believe him. So, he tried to handle the situation behind closed doors.

“I did come forward right away. I went right to the agency where this man worked and told everybody,” he said at the 25th annual Essence Festival on Friday. “I didn’t go public right away. I gave them time to rectify the situation. I wanted them to get rid of this man […] This was pre-Me Too. If I would have gone to the police, I would have been laughed out of the precinct. This was also a time when people believed that you as a man couldn’t be sexually assaulted. It was impossible to get anyone to believe.”

Crews opened up about his experience during a panel discussion called Breaking of Silence to Heal Our Communities. He was joined on stage by R. Kelly’s alleged victim Asante McGee as well as his wife, Rebecca King Crews.

The White Chicks star suggested he may have never gone public with his claims had it not been for the leaders of the #MeToo movement.

“When the women of the Me Too movement came forward, I viewed that like a hole in the fence,” he explained, as reported by Deadline. “I watched those women escape and I ran right after them. That is when I came public. With the inspiration and from the courage they showed, actually gave me the courage to come forward with my story.”

Though Venit ultimately dodged criminal prosecution, Crews said his decision to speak up was the “most important” thing he’s ever done.

“We used our anger about this situation to be an advocate for other people,” Rebecca said. “It made [us] realized there’s a bigger purpose. You can take what’s meant for evil and use it for good, and that’s what we did.”