Adam Venit, the former head of powerhouse talent agency William Morris Endeavor’s Motion Picture Group, is reportedly back in the office after a brief 30-day suspension following an allegation of sexual assault from former football star-turned-actor Terry Crews.
On Oct. 10, Crews fired out a series of tweets accusing a “high level Hollywood executive” of groping his genitals at a soiree in 2016. Crews claimed he felt encouraged and strengthened by the women who spoke out against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, prompting him to divulge his own experience of assault at the hands of the Hollywood heavyweight. “This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME,” he wrote.
Crews initially shied away from naming Venit, but came forward with the identity of his alleged groper in an interview with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan in November. Following the interview, WME—the same agency that represented Crews—suspended Venit and launched an internal investigation. Crews also filed an LAPD police report on Venit’s behavior.
ADVERTISEMENT
In his Good Morning America interview, Crews discussed details of the groping. “He’s connected to probably everyone I know in the business,” he said of Venit, whose clients include Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, and Sylvester Stallone.
“I did not know this man. I never had a conversation with him. The first time I ever had an interaction with him was at this event,” he continued. “He keeps coming over to me, I stick my hand out, and he takes his hand and squeezes my genitals.” Crews also claimed that following the incident, he approached Adam Sandler and asked what Venit’s problem was: “It was bizarre to both of us,” he says of their reactions.
Despite the LAPD’s ongoing investigation, Venit returned Monday to his full-time gig. Upon hearing the unfortunate news of Venit’s return, Crews once again took to Twitter to offer his thoughts: “SOMEONE GOT A PASS,” he quote-tweeted atop an article of the story.
Venit will no longer serve as head of the agency’s Motion Picture Group but still represents his high-profile list of clients, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
