Nov. 11 (UPI) — Former model and actor Scott R. Brunton has publicly accused “Star Trek” icon and LGBTQ rights advocate George Takei of sexually assaulting him in 1981.
Brunton told The Hollywood Reporter he was 23 when he struck up a friendship with Takei, who is about 20 years older, and went back to Takei’s apartment where he passed out after a few drinks.
“The next thing I remember I was coming to and he had my pants down around my ankles and he was groping my crotch and trying to get my underwear off and feeling me up at the same time, trying to get his hands down my underwear,” Brunton said. “I came to and said, ‘What are you doing?!’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ He goes: ‘You need to relax. I am just trying to make you comfortable. Get comfortable.’ And I said, ‘No. I don’t want to do this.’ And I pushed him off and he said, ‘OK, fine.’ And I said, ‘I am going to go,’ and he said: ‘If you feel you must. You’re in no condition to drive.’ I said: ‘I don’t care. I want to go.’ So, I managed to get my pants up and compose myself and I was just shocked. I walked out and went to my car until I felt well enough to drive home, and that was that.”
BuzzFeed said it spoke to five of Brunton’s friends who confirmed they have heard Brunton tell the story over the years.
Takei, 80, responded to the report on Twitter early Saturday, saying he was “shocked and bewildered at these claims.”
“The events [Brunton] describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now,” Takei said. “I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. But I do take these claims very seriously, and I wanted to provide my response thoughtfully and not out of the moment.”
