Ex-male model actor accuses "X-Men" director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing him as a teen in a federal lawsuit filed in Hawaii.
The lawsuit claims the prominent director of the forthcoming "X-Men: Days of Future Past" forced Michael Egan III into sex during parties in California and Hawaii when he was 17 in the late 1990s.
Singer's attorney, Marty “The Litigator” Singer, said in a statement that the claims are absurd and defamatory.
"It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan's new movie is about to open in a few weeks," said Singer.
According to the lawsuit, Egan claims he was lured into a sex ring with promises of auditions with key Hollywood player for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. Egan says he was paid as an actor for a digital entertainment company, but was forced to have sex with adult men at wild all male orgies prevalent within the power elite of Tinsel Town, the lawsuit said.
According to federally filed lawsuit, Bryan Singer attended several of the parties and forced Egan into sex, giving him drugs and then threatening Egan when he resisted advances. It does not accuse the director of luring Egan into the ring.
Egan and his attorney, Jeff Herman, planned a news conference in Los Angeles later today.
Herman has made a career of representing victims of sex abuse, filing lawsuits against organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America. In 2011, Herman won a $100 million verdict against a Catholic priest who was accused of molesting dozens of boys.
"Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children," Herman said in a statement Wednesday night.
The lawsuit does not specify a total dollar amount, but says Egan is seeking more than $75,000 on each of four accusations: intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery, assault and invasion of privacy.
