Director Bryan Singer has been accused of an ‘abusive and traumatic’ relationship by his former assistant. Here’s everything to know about Bryan.
Filmmaker Bryan Singer, 56, is facing startling new allegations that come from his former assistant, Blake Stuerman, 30. Blake said in a first-person account story published by Variety on December 20 that he was allegedly in an “abusive and traumatic” sexual relationship with Bryan, whose been accused of sexual misconduct before. Blake claimed that the alleged relationship began in 2009, when he was 18 and Bryan was 43. It allegedly ended when Bryan fired Blake as his assistant in 2013. Blake also claimed in the piece that witnessed Bryan assaulting someone in 2012. The relationship left Blake with “mental and emotional abuse,” he alleged.
HollywoodLife reached out to Bryan’s rep for comment, but we haven’t heard back. His team denied the allegations to Variety, though they didn’t deny that Bryan was indeed in a sexual relationship with Blake. Below, everything you need to know about Bryan Singer and the repeated allegations of sexual misconduct he’s faced over the years.
1. Bryan has directed several hit films.
Bryan has a storied career in Hollywood as a film director. His first big film was 1995’s The Usual Suspects. He went on to direct Apt Pupil, X-Men, X2, Superman Returns, Valkyrie, Jack the Giant Slayer, X-Men Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse. His most recent film was the 2018 Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek. Bryan ended up being fired from the movie just before completion due to on-set behavior. He also served as a producer on 2019’s Dark Phoenix, but he was removed from production and credits due to allegations of sexual assault. He has not worked on a movie since then.
2. He’s also worked on TV shows.
Bryan has some directing and producing credits for the small-screen, as well. He directed the premiere episode of House and was an executive producer on the medical show. He also produced Dirty Sexy Money, Mockingbird Lane, and Battle Creek. His most recent television work was as an executive producer on the Fox superhero show The Gifted, which aired for two seasons from 2017 to 2019. He directed the premiere episode of the series.
3. Bryan is openly bisexual.
Bryan publicly came out as bisexual in May 2014. He told Out magazine, “I’m quite bisexual. In the last five years, I’ve had two girlfriends — one for two years, one for eight months. Talking about human sexuality is like talking about the second World War. If you look at the Kinsey Report, human sexuality is so complex. And the reason I’ve never talked about it to the press — until now — is because sexuality is so complex. To have a real conversation about it, you really want to have the person you’re talking to in front of you.” Bryan also said in the interview that “in the end, it’s probably going to be a guy.” He added, “I emotionally lean towards male relationships, so I’m happy to say I’m gay, too, if it’s a one-syllable, easy answer.”
4. He has 1 son.
Bryan Singer has a 6-year-old son, Dashiell Julius William Clunie-Singer. He shares his son with actress Michelle Clunie, 52. Dashiell was born in January 2015. Bryan and Michelle had been friends for over 25 years before announcing in October 2014 that they were expecting a child together. The state of their relationship today is unclear.
5. He’s been accused of sexual abuse before.
Bryan was first accused of sexual allegations in 1997. At the time, a 14-year-old claimed that Bryan made him and other minors film a shower scene nude for Apt Pupil. The case was apparently settled out of court. In 2014, model/actor Michael Egan filed a civil suit against Bryan and claimed that the director drugged and raped him at party in Hawaii. The suit was later dropped. Three years later, Cesar Sanchez-Guzman sued Bryan and alleged that he was raped by Bryan at 17 years old in 2003. Bryan settled this case for $150,000 in 2019. That same year, Bryan was once again accused of sexual assault and rape by four men while they were underage in a story published by The Atlantic. The 2019 allegations put an end to Bryan’s career. He has denied any and all allegations against him.
In the Variety piece, Blake admitted that he “defended” Bryan over the past years for “his alleged behavior.” Blake added, “It wasn’t until I began receiving treatment specifically for abuse and PTSD that I accepted what had actually happened. I am a victim of abuse by a very powerful, very wealthy and very sick man. I am a victim of Bryan Singer.”