Brie Larson, the star of the upcoming film The Glass Castle, released a statement via her Instagram concerning allegations of sexual assault at Cinefamily, a local theatre in Los Angeles.
"The allegations at Cinefamily are upsetting to me personally, both as an advocate for sexual assault survivors and a member of the community," Larson wrote in a screenshot of the Notes application, as per Jezebel.
She continued, "Cinefamily prides itself on being a space of safety and communion — it is time for further action to be taken to ensure that."
As The LA Times reports, reports of sexual misconduct in the upper levels of Cinefamily, a non-profit theatre, surfaced online early this week. Two men, co-founder and executive creative director Hadrian Belove and vice president of the board of directors Shadie Elnashai, were accused of separate instances of sexual harassment and assault. According to Jezebel, the information spread via an email from an anonymous encrypted email titled "501 Cinefamily Think." The emails included photos of legal documents pertaining to a 2014 lawsuit. According to these images, a former employee Christina Poppy alleges that Belove repeatedly harassed her, including unwanted touching and threats to her job security when she did not comply with a request for "private attention." As a result of this anonymous leak, both Belove and Elnashai resigned Tuesday evening.
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Regarding the resignation, Cinefamily released a statement on Facebook that reads: "Our non-profit organisation has zero tolerance for any action intended to harm or injure our staff, volunteers, or patrons. Any claims made are dealt with swiftly and directly, with respect and moral integrity."
In a Facebook message to Jezebel, Belove stated that the allegations were "mostly lies and distortions" and "disgraceful."
In 2016, Larson hosted a screening for the documentary The Hunting Ground at Cinefamily. The Hunting Ground documented the overwhelming issue of campus sexual assault.
Representation for Brie Larson did not immediately reply to Refinery29's request for comment. We will update this post if we receive and a response.
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