Actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto has forcefully denied allegations of sexual assault and misconduct made by ten women in a new BBC documentary, issuing a statement through his representatives that calls the accusations "absolutely and categorically false." The hour-long film, titled Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, aired Wednesday and features accounts from women who say their alleged encounters with the Oscar winner occurred between 2002 and 2016, when Leto was in his 30s and 40s.
Leto, now 54, responded to the documentary's release with a brief but unequivocal denial. "I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life," he said in a statement provided to multiple outlets including The Hollywood Reporter and the Associated Press. "These claims are absolutely and categorically false" . The BBC has reported that Leto did not respond to repeated requests for comment during the documentary's production, and the filmmakers said they received "radio silence" after sending a detailed right-of-reply letter to his representatives .
According to the BBC's investigation, four of the ten women featured in the documentary accuse Leto of criminal sexual conduct. Their allegations include one woman who says she was sexually assaulted in a motel bathroom in Las Vegas in 2002 when she was 17, while Leto was 30. A second woman alleges the actor threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19 in a London hotel room. A third claims she had underage sex with Leto in California when she was 17, which would constitute statutory rape under state law; she says Leto "shrugged off" a conversation about the age of consent, which is 18 in California. A fourth woman says Leto made repeated sexually explicit phone calls to her beginning when she was 16 and later sent her a non-disclosure agreement, which she refused to sign .
The BBC says it corroborated the women's accounts through interviews with friends and family members who were told about the alleged encounters at the time and, in some cases, reviewed photographs and messages that support their claims . The documentary, directed by Alice McShane—who previously helmed the 2023 Channel 4 documentary Russell Brand: In Plain Sight—was the result of an 18-month investigation that sifted through more than 120 online allegations about Leto's behavior toward women .
This is not the first time Leto has faced such accusations. In June 2025, the digital outlet Air Mail published a report detailing misconduct claims from nine women, allegations Leto also denied at the time. The BBC documentary notes those prior reports and includes them as part of a broader pattern, though Leto has consistently maintained his innocence across all accusations . The Los Angeles-based DJ Allie Teilz, who reshared her own allegations against Leto in April 2025, was cited by the filmmakers as a catalyst for the investigation .
Leto, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, has continued to secure major studio roles in recent years, including a supporting part in this year's Masters of the Universe and a leading role in last year's Tron: Ares . His band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, is also scheduled to tour Europe in April 2027 .
Why this matters
The allegations against Leto arrive at a complex moment for Hollywood accountability. While the #MeToo movement brought down dozens of powerful figures beginning in 2017, documentary director Alice McShane told Variety she believes public outrage over such stories has "slightly cooled" a decade later, potentially shielding wealthy celebrities from professional consequences . The BBC's investigation—which the filmmakers say is ongoing—raises questions about whether Leto's career will face the same reckoning as other prominent figures accused of sexual misconduct, particularly given that his representatives did not engage with the documentary team before its broadcast .
