Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard fires agent amid sex abuse claims
Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, 14, has reportedly broken ties with his agent Tyler Grasham, after at least two accusations of sexual assault were leveled at the agent.
On Tuesday, former child star Blaise Godbe Lipman wrote a Facebook post alleging that Grasham had assaulted him.
"Tyler Grasham, under the pretense of a business meeting regarding potential agency representation at APA Agency, fed me alcohol while I was underage and sexually assaulted me," claimed Lipman, who has appeared in several US television shows including Weeds and The Office.
Lucas Ozarowski, a film and TV editor, has also claimed that he has been mistreated by the agent, in a statement given to Deadline Hollywood.
A source close to Wolfhard told the film news site that he had parted ways with Grasham's agency due to these allegations. Wolfhard plays young hero Mike in Netflix's sci-fi/horror series Stranger Things, and also appeared in this summer's hit Stephen King adaptation It.
A representative for the agency has said: "APA takes these allegations extremely seriously and is investigating this matter." According to the Hollywood Reporter, Grasham is currently on leave from APA while his employers conduct an internal investigation.
Lipman has said he was inspired to post his story on Facebook by the "#metoo" campaign, which encourages people to share their own experiences of sexual harassment, in the wake of a recent spate of allegations aimed at disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale are among the film stars who claim to have been harassed by the Oscar-winning producer. As of Sunday, Weinstein has been under investigation by Scotland Yard for five allegations of sexual assualt and rape. Weinstein's spokesman has "unequivocally denied" any accusations of non-consensual sex.
Weinstein Sex scandal
In a follow-up post published today, Lipman compared Weinstein to Grasham. "The industry protects it’s own. That is an undeniable fact," Lipman wrote. "Like Harvey, everyone knew about Tyler’s reputation."
Lipman continued: "Agencies, studios and networks need to step up and create a meaningful system of checks and balances. I look forward to seeing how these systems progress, and applaud everyone who is moving us into a new era in which this behavior is no longer normalized. Remember, the Grashams and Weinsteins are a small component of the problem."