Kevin Connolly is denying accusations of sexual assault by former costume designer Gracie Cox. The allegations were first made public in a report published by The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
According to Cox, the incident in question allegedly occurred in 2005 at a Manhattan wrap party for Connolly’s directorial debut, Gardener of Eden. Cox said she was “a bit tipsy” and claimed Connolly “led me down a hall to what I guess was the VIP lounge area.”
“As soon as we were alone in that area, he started to kiss me. I didn’t know how to respond,” Cox claimed, alleging that Connolly then proceeded to have sex with her in the lounge. She claimed that there “was not really a chance in my mind to object or resist.”
Martin Singer, the Entourage star’s lawyer, released a statement to 360aproko on behalf of Connolly, denying Cox’s characterization of the alleged encounter.
“Kevin strongly supports victims of sexual assault and believes their claims should always be heard. As someone who has worked in this industry for four decades, he has treated people with nothing but respect and has maintained a stellar reputation,” the statement expressed. “Therefore, he was completely shocked to learn of the allegations made by Gracie Cox from a wrap party in 2005. The incident with Ms. Cox was consensual, and he categorically denies any claim that it was assault.”
“When they returned to the wrap party, Gracie’s boss, Amy Westcott, learned of what occurred and expressed her disappointment to both. Gracie shared with Kevin that she was embarrassed after getting in trouble with Amy, the head of the costume department,” the statement continued. “According to IMDB, it doesn’t appear that Gracie and Amy worked together on a project since then.”
“Kevin completely understands Amy’s displeasure with the consensual act that transpired between Kevin and Gracie 15 years ago, after production had wrapped and they were no longer working together on the movie,” the statement claimed. “Kevin acknowledges the lack of professionalism on his part, but he adamantly denies that it was anything other than a mutual consensual encounter.”
According to Cox’s interview, after their interaction, Connolly allegedly “took a pillow off of a couch, threw it at me, and told me to ‘clean myself up.’ He then told me that he was going to leave and to wait a few minutes, because he didn’t want anyone to see us together.”
Cox claims that she ran into Westcott in the hallway after the alleged incident, and that Westcott “saw me and could see that I was distressed.”
“She had seen [Connolly] walk by too, and she immediately was like, ‘What just happened?’ Her radar went off and she pulled me aside,” Cox claimed. “Amy was immediately enraged and protective, and then went after [Connolly]. Then they had an argument in the middle of the party, yelling at each other … Amy said, ‘Let’s get you home,’ and put me in a cab.”
The Daily Beast also noted it has spoken with four of Cox’s friends, who all claim that she’d told them of the incident at the time.
In 2016, Cox left Hollywood and moved back to her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, where she currently works as a children’s therapist and mental health professional.
