Actor Terry Crews is known for his action roles such as Street Kings, Terminator Salvation, and Harsh Times. He has also appeared in more comedic performances as well, starring in the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. One of his most iconic appearances has been his stint as Hale Caesar in Sylvester Stallone’s action franchise The Expendables.
Despite playing the role in three films in the franchise, Crews was missing in the fourth film The Expend4bles, which was released in 2023. The actor revealed that he had to quit the franchise as the producer pressured him to drop a lawsuit against Hollywood agent Adam Venit, who was accused of s*xual assault in 2017 by Terry Crews.
Terry Crews Accused Adam Venit Of S*xual Assault
Actor Terry Crews made headlines in 2017 during the Harvey Weinstein Scandal when he accused William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit of s*xual assault. The actor put up a thread on X (formerly Twitter) that he was at a party with his wife when Venit came over and groped him. He mentioned that the incident was witnessed by his wife Rebecca King.
In his initial post, Terry Crews had not named Venit as the perpetrator and only referred to him as a ‘high-level Hollywood executive’ in fear of being blacklisted in the industry. According to Indie Wire, Venit reportedly got in touch with Crews after the incident to apologize but did not explain his behavior.
Crews mentioned that though he wanted to confront Adam Venit, he chose not to as he did not want to be ostracized by the industry. He said,
“I decided not [to] take it further [because] I didn’t want [to be] ostracized— par [for] the course when the predator has power [and] influence. I understand and empathize with those who have remained silent. Hopefully, me coming forward with my story will deter a predator and encourage someone who feels hopeless.”
Terry Crews filed a police report against Adam Venit when he was reinstated into the WME after a thirty-day suspension. Crews filed a lawsuit against Venit and WME. The prosecutors chose not to file charges against Venit as the statute of limitations had expired for the incident.
Terry Crews Vowed Never To Appear In The Expendables Franchise
At a hearing about the S*xual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights, Terry Crews testified in front of a committee that was reviewing the law’s implementation. Crews mentioned Adam Venit’s behavior and his initial reluctance to pursue the matter as it would affect his career in Hollywood. Along the same lines, Crews mentioned that after the incident came to light, he was pressured by The Expendables producer Avi Lerner to drop the suit against Venit.
Crews mentioned that he was threatened with retaliation from the producer. When asked if Crews would be returning for the Sylvester Stallone starrer, the actor said that he would not. According to Deadline, he said,
“No. Simply because this same producer is under his own … investigation. Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on. Am I going to be a part of this or am I gonna take a stand, and there are projects I had to turn down.”
Lerner was reportedly undergoing a lawsuit himself for s*xual harassment and a hostile work environment. Terry Crews mentioned that it was a general problem in Hollywood that usually fulfills dreams. In his testimony, he mentioned that many people in power get away with it and that the behavior has been normalized.
“Hollywood definitely has been a problem area, simply because so many people view this as a dream. And what happens is, someone has power over these dreams. And what happens also is that you get tricked into thinking that this type of behavior is expected, that it’s part of the job, that this harassment, abuse, even r*pe is part of your job description.”
Terry Crews also mentioned that since he came out with his story, many men had come forward and told him that they had gained the courage to speak out against their own assault and harassment incidents.
