Hollywood Is 'impenetrable': Team Behind Jared Leto Doc Wants To Continue Sexual Assault Investigation

After a twelvemonth and half of investigation and interviews, nan BBC connected Wednesday aired an explosive caller documentary successful which multiple women accused Oscar victor Jared Leto of intersexual assault.

Directed by Alice McShane, “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret,” which debuted Wednesday successful nan U.K., revealed caller claims of criminal intersexual behaviour by nan 54-year-old character and musician from 4 women, including a imaginable lawsuit of statutory rape successful California. In nan film, a full of 10 women recount allegations of intersexual assault, on pinch inappropriate matter messages, telephone calls and behaviour that occurred from 2002 to 2016. Leto has denied nan allegations.

To guarantee nan integrity of nan documentary, nan hour-long programme was not announced up of time.

“Everything came retired astatine once,” says shaper Jessica Sartenaer, speaking from London complete Zoom alongside McShane connected Friday morning. “That was each very overmuch portion of nan strategy because we didn’t want to leak thing earlier nan investigation came out.”

McShane began moving connected nan movie aft Los Angeles-based DJ Allie Teilz reshared successful April 2025 her Facebook station from 2012 successful which she accused Leto of trying to “force himself” onto her backstage astatine a concert. Teilz described nan character arsenic “Hollywood’s astir persistent predator.” About 40 women contacted Teilz pinch their ain allegations, according to Sartenaer. In June 2025, play newsletter Air Mail published accusations of impropriety against Leto by 9 women, which he denied.

“I began ringing astir trying to find nan women who’d written into Allie,” McShane says. “When I was speaking to women, I realized location were different journalists connected nan trail. So I did deliberation location was going to beryllium thing published comparatively quickly, which we can’t compete pinch because we person a full different group of considerations. It takes a batch longer to make.”

Social media was nan main assets for uncovering group consenting to speak connected nan record. The filmmakers opportunity they discovered much than 120 abstracted allegations online.

“But that doesn’t needfully mean these are each women who want to speak astir their experiences,” McShane says. “They’ve posted anonymously for a reason. It was a batch of hours spent digging done hundreds of group from crossed Leto’s life and profession — group who had worked pinch nan band, group successful his acting life, his manner life. We had an tremendous spreadsheet. It was a really in-depth process.”

Ultimately, 10 women agreed to beryllium interviewed connected camera. The filmmakers offered each various options of anonymity depending connected their level of comfort. None are wholly anonymous, though only 3 utilized their existent names. All of their existent voices are heard, which McShane says is unusual.

Sartenaer adds, “The courageousness it takes to travel guardant and travel up against a powerful man for illustration Leto is immeasurable. It’s perfectly unthinkable what these women person done, and nan anonymity determination is simply a very individual one. Right away, [the women had] this gut small heart astir nan level of anonymity that they would like.”

McShane drew connected her past experiences, including making nan 2023 Channel 4 documentary “Russell Brand: In Plain Sight,” which investigated comedian Russell Brand’s curen of women, to guideline nan question and reply process.

“You really study from a duty-of-care position really to champion look aft nan women,” she says. “There’s ever this equilibrium of wanting to analyse nan story, but besides knowing these are group who person gone done incredibly achy experiences and they’re sharing very individual things pinch you. You ne'er want to push. They are successful control. You tin ne'er make these things happen. It has to travel from nan women.”

The first investigation began successful London and nan filmmakers visited Los Angeles doubly successful nan months that followed. The first question and reply was pinch a female named Alex past fall. In nan documentary, nan erstwhile exemplary recalls being invited to a 30 Seconds to Mars performance astatine London’s O2 successful 2013 (Leto is nan band’s frontman). She says his female adjunct past brought her to an afterparty astatine nan members’ nine Shoreditch House. Although she was 19 astatine nan time, she told Leto she was 17 to protect herself. She says nan musician, past 41, replied, “Age is conscionable a number, and, anyway, we’re successful Europe.”

Alex was sent by Leto’s adjunct to different afterparty astatine a adjacent hotel, but Leto was nan only 1 there, she says. Alex asked for a telephone charger and rate for a taxi home, but was denied. When she asked if she could clang connected nan sofa successful nan edifice room, she says Leto threatened to rape her.

“Right from erstwhile we started investigating and started proceeding from these women, [we were] noticing these patterns of behavior,” McShane says. “[Alex] is an bonzer communicator. The women we were speaking to, each of them, are astonishing storytellers, and resolute astir telling their stories. Each clip we said to personification it reinforced nan value of getting it out.”

An explosive caller documentary revealed caller claims of criminal intersexual behaviour by character and musician Jared Leto.

(Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)

Sartenaer says Leto’s seeming fixation pinch women of a young property was thing “we were willing successful investigating correct disconnected because of nan shape we noticed successful nan reposts from Allie Teilz.”

“Many of them did mention that they were teenagers astatine nan clip of nan alleged offenses,” she says. “We knew that was a thread to travel correct from nan beginning.”

One woman, named Clara successful nan documentary, said astir having activity pinch Leto for nan first clip erstwhile she was 17 and he was 34. The brushwood took spot astatine his location successful California. In nan film, she describes having a speech pinch Leto astir nan property of consent successful nan state. “He conscionable benignant of shrugged it off, for illustration it wasn’t a immense interest for him,” she says.

As nan documentary points out, nan property of consent successful California is 18. An big having activity pinch personification underage tin represent statutory rape. The filmmakers can’t remark connected nan rule aliases whether location will beryllium immoderate ineligible repercussions for Leto. However, Mike Radford, executive shaper astatine BBC Current Affairs, says what distinguishes “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret” from anterior investigations is that nan movie showcases alleged criminal conduct.

“That’s a different level of imaginable wrongdoing,” Radford says, speaking connected nan telephone from London. “From that constituent of view, it becomes a much superior story, and it goes beyond misunderstanding to thing much worrying.”

The filmmakers sent a “lengthy correct of reply” missive to Leto and gave him 2 weeks to respond. They followed up respective times pinch his squad to nary avail. It wasn’t until aft nan documentary aired that Leto denied nan allegations successful a statement, which was shared Wednesday pinch The Times.

“I person ne'er sexually assaulted anyone successful my full life,” he said. “These claims are perfectly and categorically false.”

The documentary combines nan interviews pinch reenactments and archival footage. Sartenaer says they had a “wealth of material” to propulsion from.

“There is truthful overmuch contented astir him,” McShane adds. “And he’s truthful overtly intersexual connected nan nationalist stage. We’ve sewage examples successful nan movie of him, for illustration erstwhile he’s successful nan property room astatine nan Oscars. Everything is packed pinch innuendo. There are examples wherever he’s being very inappropriate pinch young women connected nan stage. All of that placed adjacent to these interviews tin beryllium truthful chilling and location were countless examples of that disposable to us.”

The filmmakers worked pinch a constricted fund and a mini squad of three: McShane, Sartenaer and cinematographer Theo Tennant. In total, they spent a twelvemonth and half moving afloat clip connected “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret.”

Alice McShane, left, and Jessica Sartenaer question and reply intermezo journalist Maureen Ryan for “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret.”

(Theo Tennant / BBC)

The biggest situation was nan truth that “Hollywood is an impenetrable world,” Sartenaer says. The documentary features interviews pinch 2 group who worked pinch Leto speaking wholly anonymously, but they were difficult to find and get connected nan record.

“It really took a very, very agelong clip to person a breakthrough connected nan insider beforehand [and] to really get group to commencement talking pinch us,” Sartenaer says. “Hollywood is specified a precarious spot and it’s difficult to get into Hollywood, and I deliberation erstwhile group are in, it’s astir apt a terrifying prospect. One ft stepped incorrect could spot them catapulted retired of it again. We saw that nervousness successful trying to speak pinch people. There’s a existent civilization of secrecy.”

Despite that, location are hopes that “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret” will promote different imaginable victims to speak out.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Sartenaer says. “What these women person done by coming guardant [is commendable]. We deliberation their courageousness will promote different women to speak their truth, whoever it is about.”

Radford says nan BBC is continuing its investigation into nan allegations surrounding Leto.

“We would dream that should our investigation proceed we would person capable worldly to make a consequent documentary,” he says. “We’re not moving connected a documentary now because I’m not commissioned to do so. But it is our intention.”

At present, nan BBC doesn’t person plans to aerial “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret” successful nan U.S. It was offered to nan U.S. marketplace while successful production, according to Radford, but not picked up for distribution.

“There was nary ineligible logic it isn’t airing there,” Radford says. “In fact, nan ineligible threat is overmuch greater successful nan U.K. because nan libel laws are tougher successful nan U.K. So location was nary fearfulness astir putting it retired successful nan U.S.”

McShane and Sartenaer person been heartened by nan contiguous consequence to nan documentary. But they besides dream nan momentum will continue.

“I dream we support seeing nan reverberations and I dream nan speech doesn’t die,” McShane says. “Ten years agone astatine nan tallness of #MeToo this would person really punched through. The wide outrage has cooled a small spot erstwhile stories of this quality are published. But we dream nan conversations enactment beardown because it’s really important group support talking astir this.”