Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse Deny Sexual Assualt Accusations Made Against ‘Riverdale’ Cast, Threaten Legal Action
Four Riverdale cast members are now the latest celebrities who are being accused of sexual assault and misconduct.
On June 21, multiple Twitter accounts claimed that Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, KJ Apa, and Vanessa Morgan sexually abused women on separate occasions in the past. For hours, the accusations circulated through social media, with some fans coming to the actors’ defense while others were ready to “cancel” them.
But it wasn’t until later that same day, both Sprouse and Reinhart denied the allegations, dubbing the claims “false accusations” and “fabricated” stories.
More on the allegations against the ‘Riverdale’ cast
The drama surrounding the Riverdale cast kicked off early on June 21 when newly joined Twitter user @Victori66680029 accused Sprouse of sexually abusing her while at a party in a series of tweets.
The woman claimed that the alleged incident happened after the actor approached her during one of his parties in 2013. She alleged that after Sprouse began flirting with her, he invited her to his room, where he “became aggressive” and started to assault her.
The woman said that she didn’t share what happened between her and the Disney Channel alum that night because she didn’t think anyone would believe her.
It wasn’t long before Sprouse’s name began trending on Twitter, with some expressing sympathy for the victim while others didn’t waste time coming to the actors’ defense.
Following the accusations made against Sprouse, similar allegations of sexual misconduct were made against his Riverdale co-stars, Reinhart, Apa, and Morgan on Twitter.
One account that made said accusations later tweeted in part “see how easy it is to lie and you guys will believe it?” The account in question has since been suspended from Twitter.
Cole Sprouse was the first to deny these accusations
A few hours after Sprouse and his co-stars were accused of sexual misconduct, he took to Twitter to deny the claims, calling them false and damaging to actual sexual assault victims.
“Earlier today myself and three other cast mates were falsely accused of sexual offense by anonymous accounts on twitter. I take these accusations very seriously, and will be working with the right teams to get to the root of it,” he tweeted.
“False accusations do tremendous damage to victims of actual assault. Furthermore, I would never seek to silence anybody,” the Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum continued. “I encourage that people look into the accusations themselves, as the events detailed were factually untrue.
The actor concluded his statement by adding that the accusations appear to be an attempt to “cancel” him and his fellow Riverdale co-stars. “This seems to be the latest claim in a series of incidents seeking to baselessly cancel my cast mates and me.”
Lili Reinhart also responded to the accusations
Minutes after Sprouse broke his silence about the sexual assault claims, his co-star Reinhart, who he reportedly split from in May after several years of dating, took to Twitter to also deny the allegations.
“I have always taken sexual assault allegations seriously. But it was proven that this account was created specifically to create false stories about me and my cast,” she tweeted. “I can’t think of something more twisted than lying about sexual assault. It invalidates the men and women who are… brave enough to come forward with the truth. This kind of lie can ruin lives and careers- and I can call it a lie because the person who made the allegations already admitted that the stories were fabricated,” Reinhart continued.
The Hustlers actress then added that she and her co-stars are now considering legal action, reiterating Sprouse’s comment that claims such as this are extremely damaging to “true” sexual assault survivors.
“We are looking into taking legal action. This kind of sick behavior only harms true survivors. This was incredibly triggering for me and scary because I’ve always supported survivors and believed them,” Reinhart wrote. I hope and pray that this does not discourage real survivors from speaking out about their experiences.”
Although Morgan and Apa have yet to address the allegations, fellow Riverdale star Madelaine Petch showed her support for her castmates on Twitter by slamming the accusations made against them.
“As someone who has been sexually assaulted, I am deeply deeply disturbed that anyone thinks that it is okay to falsely accuse someone of sexual assault,” she tweeted. “This is why real assault allegations can sometimes not be taken seriously, you should be ashamed. This is disgusting.
“How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
