Arnold Schwarzenegger has previously talked about getting injured on the sets of his movies and even facing a couple of near-death situations. That’s the thing when you are a part of the action genre; things tend to get out of hand at times. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s co-star in True Lies can attest to the truth of this.
Eliza Dushku starred in True Lies as Dana Tasker. During the filming of the movie, she ended up getting hurt due to a stunt gone wrong. However, according to Eliza Dushku herself, the injury had a more sinister story behind it. The actress has blamed stunt coordinator Joel Kramer for deliberately hurting her, a twelve-year-old child, after she accused him of s*xually molesting her in a hotel room.
Eliza Dushku Accuses Joel Kramer of S*xual Molestation
True Lies was released in 1994 when Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the prime of his action-hero image. However, more than two decades later, Eliza Dushku opened up about how the movie’s stunt coordinator s*xually molested her while she was just a 12-year-old child.
In her Facebook post, Dushku wrote a lengthy recollection of the ordeal, describing everything in heartbreaking details. She began by blasting Joel Kramer and then stated that she struggled with when or if she should speak up about the incident. She added that she now understood the power dynamic of the industry and that when she saw a photo of Kramer hugging a young girl, she just couldn’t stay in the shadows anymore.
Describing the incident, Dushku wrote,
“I remember, so clearly 25 years later, how Joel Kramer made me feel special, how he methodically built my and my parents’ trust, for months grooming me…I remember vividly how he methodically drew the shades and turned down the lights…where exactly he placed me on one of the two hotel room beds…how he disappeared in the bathroom and emerged, naked, bearing nothing but a small hand towel held flimsy at his mid-section…
…I remember how he laid me down on the bed, wrapped me with his gigantic writhing body, and rubbed all over me. He spoke these words: ‘You’re not going to sleep on me now sweetie, stop pretending you’re sleeping,’ as he rubbed harder and faster against my catatonic body. When he was ‘finished’, he suggested, ‘I think we should be careful…,’ [about telling anyone] he meant. I was 12, he was 36.”
Dushku continued that he then placed her on his lap in the taxi on the drive back to her parents. She remembered how he “grew aroused again” during the ride. She also blamed him for deliberately hurting her and breaking her ribs during one of the stunts after she confided in a female friend and she confronted Kramer.
“And I remember how soon-after, when my tough adult female friend…came out to the set to visit and face him, later that very same day, by no small coincidence, I was injured from a stunt-gone-wrong on the Harrier jet. With broken ribs, I spent the evening in the hospital. To be clear, over the course of those months rehearsing and filming True Lies, it was Joel Kramer who was responsible for my safety on a film that at the time broke new ground for action films…
…On a daily basis he rigged wires and harnesses on my 12 year old body. My life was literally in his hands: he hung me in the open air, from a tower crane, atop an office tower, 25+ stories high. Whereas he was supposed to be my protector, he was my abuser.”
Of course, Kramer has denied the allegations as he told Deadline that Dushku was probably imagining the whole thing. However, the actress’ co-stars and director all came out in support of her after finding out about it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger & James Cameron Support Eliza Dushku
Schwarzenegger and James Cameron were apparently unaware of Kramer’s doings as they both stated that things would have been a lot more different had they known what was going on. Replying to a tweet, Schwarzenegger stated that he was shocked and saddened for Dushku but was also very proud of her for speaking out.
Tom, you bet your ass all of us would have done something. I’m shocked and saddened for Eliza but I am also proud of her – beyond being a great talent and an amazing woman, she is so courageous. https://t.co/EJJbkdior2
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 16, 2018
Cameron also talked in favor of Dushku and stated that if he had known at the time, “there would’ve been no mercy.” He added that since he has daughters of his own, he wouldn’t have let Kramer off the hook, no matter what. Dushku’s co-star, Jamie Lee Curtis, also spoke in support of her, shining a light on “the abuse of children” in Hollywood.
While there is still a long way to go in order to make Hollywood a safe space for child actors, people like Dushku take us one step closer to the ideal world by speaking out. More power to her!
Source: Facebook | Eliza Dushku
