Bryan Singer was sued Thursday for allegedly raping a 17-year-old boy on a yacht in Seattle in 2003.
The alleged victim, Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, accused the director of forcing him to perform oral sex. According to the suit, which was filed in state court in Seattle, the director then forcibly performed oral sex on Sanchez-Guzman and then anally penetrated him.
Singer approached Sanchez-Guzman and told him he was a producer and could help him get into acting if he did not say anything about the incident, the suit alleges.
“He then told Cesar that no one would believe him if he ever reported the incident, and that he could hire people who are capable of ruining someone’s reputation,” the lawsuit states.
The yacht was owned by Lester Waters, a wealthy tech investor “who frequently hosted parties for young gay males in the Seattle area,” the suit alleges.
The suit comes just three days after Singer was fired from “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the biopic of Freddy Mercury now shooting in London. Singer was repeatedly absent from the set and did not return after Thanksgiving, causing a shutdown in production.
Singer said he was unable to make it to the set because he was caring for an ailing parent. The studio named Dexter Fletcher as his replacement Wednesday.
Sanchez-Guzman is represented by Miami attorney Jeffrey Herman, who represented Michael Egan in his 2014 lawsuit against Singer, television producer Garth Ancier and former Disney executive David Neuman.
Egan eventually dropped his lawsuit Herman later apologized to Ancier and Neuman, who had sued for malicious prosecution. Herman said he later that the allegations in the original lawsuit were “untrue and provably false.”
Egan in 2015 pleaded guilty to fraud in an unrelated federal case in North Carolina. He had been accused of bilking investors to fund various projects but instead using the money for personal expenses.
Singer’s full statement:
“Bryan categorically denies these allegations and will vehemently defend this lawsuit to the very end. Cesar Sanchez-Guzman apparently claims that he did not remember this alleged incident from 2003 until now. Significantly, when Sanchez-Guzman filed for bankruptcy only a few years ago, he failed to disclose this alleged claim when he was supposed to identify all of his assets, but conveniently, now that the bankruptcy court discharged all of his debts, he is able to recall the alleged events.”
