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Ansel Elgort may be wowing critics in ‘Tokyo Vice’, but sexual assault allegations refuse to die

The 28-year-old actor had been accused by several woman, including one named Gabby, who said he had sex with her even when she was in pain

Ansel Elgort is being widely applauded for his lead role in ‘Tokyo Vice’ in which he plays Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who while “working for a publication in Tokyo takes on one of the city's most powerful crime bosses.” The 28-year-old actor even reportedly learned Japanese for his role. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, he said: “It was really cool.”

And Elgort’s effort has been noticed as a piece by The New York Times’ Mike Hale noted that though the actor has “just turned 28 — who made his name as a teenage heartthrob, and whose performance as Tony was not one of the more notable features of Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story.’ He’s still not giving what you’d call a fully fleshed performance, but the gawky enthusiasm, impatience and casual American arrogance of the half-formed Jake fit him well, and he’s comfortable and engaging in the role.”

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Hale also mentioned, “He also delivers a lot of his dialogue in Japanese, which he reportedly learned for the series,” before adding: “As he pedals madly through Tokyo’s streets, wearing Jake’s mandatory cheap suit and omnipresent backpack, we can heave a collective sigh for our youth.”

Elgort’s fans also took to Twitter to commend him for his performance with one saying, “@AnselElgort Wow your performance in “Tokyo Vice” is astonishing!😲 The way your character apprehended the language of Japanese is amazing. I will forever be your cheerleader  in life both on & off screen. Have a blessed weekend.❤️😇.” Another one said, “One thing I'll say Ansel Elgort has going for him is that he has a great eye for picking projects and surrounding himself with top-tier talent. Tokyo Vice is right in my wheelhouse.” “Ansel Elgort is a naturally stiff actor, but that arguably works in his favor in #TokyoVice, since he's playing an awkward foreigner who struggles to assimilate into his environment and even have normal interactions with other people. We'll see,” the third one added.

However, despite these praises, it seems ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ actor’s alleged disturbing past is not going to die anytime soon. Elgort has been accused by not one but several women of sexually assault and harassment. One of his accusers revealed herself as Gabby in June 2020 and alleged that he abused her in 2014 when she was 17 and he was 20.

In her now-deleted tweet, the woman claimed that she was a fan of the ‘West Side Story’ star and texted him a few days before her 17th birthday. She also alleged that Elgort replied back to her while demanding nude pictures. Gabby also described her sex experience with the actor as she noted: “I was just a kid and was a fan of him, so when it happened instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn't want to do it the only words that came out of his mouth were, 'We need to break you in.' I WASNT there in that moment mentally. I dissociated myself and just felt like my mind was gone and I was in shock ... I couldn't leave, I was only 5'2" and 98 pounds.”

She added: “Years later, I have PTSD, I have panic attacks, I go to therapy. Finally, I'm ready to talk about it and finally heal. I'm not posting this to 'clout chase' because I simply don't care for that. I just want to heal and I want to tell other girls who have been through the same s--t as me. You're not alone. It's a lot for me to even come on here and tell my story. I simply don't want to post it all.”

Soon after the accusation surfaced, Elgort reportedly addressed it on his Instagram in a now-deleted post. He apparently admitted to having been in a “brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship” with Gabby but also maintained that “I have never and would never assault anyone.” He had also added: "I was distressed to see the social media posts about me that have been circulating in the past 24 hours. I cannot claim to understand Gabby's feelings but her description of events is simply not what happened.”

Other accusers have remained anonymous, with one woman saying he sent her a picture of his penis, while another said he demanded she send him a picture of "something sexy." 

After the allegations, Elgort disappeared from the public eye and social media. But then in September 2021, he re-appeared at New York Fashion Week. He also then went on to briefly promote ‘West Side Story’. At the time, his co-stars Rachel Zegler, Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose were also asked about the accusations Elgort was facing. But the trio seemed to be cautious as DeBose said, “Nobody really knows what’s going on in anyone’s head. Only the people who were involved in that situation know what actually went down.”

Moreno remarked: “I think it would have been absolutely horrendous and wrong for anyone to take sides in that matter. It’s not for me to make those judgments.” While Zegler added: “We made a movie two and a half years ago, and a lot has gone on in the world since then. A lot has changed very publicly, and privately as well. There’s been a lot of awakening. You just hope that the people involved are OK, that they are asked in a respectful manner and that they are given the opportunity to answer for themselves.”

And now after the success of ‘Tokyo Vice’, Twitter has again erupted with Elgort’s reported dark past with many calling out the actor as well as the makers of the show for casting him. A user tweeted, “I feel like a shitty person rn because I’m watching Tokyo Vice and it’s so fucking good but Ansel Elgort is the starting actor so :/.” The second user wrote: “They could’ve had anyone playing jake on tokyo vice but they just had to cast ansel elgort. Smhhhhh.” The third one said, “I watched the first episode of Tokyo Vice and it does seem like it's doing the whole, ‘white guy leaves his community to show the locals of another community how it's done,’ thing, but I still found the episode stylish as hell... However, I do maintain that Ansel Elgort sucks.”

A person shared, “Can people stop casting Ansel Elgort please. That man has the charisma of a wet blanket. I’m in to every other part of Tokyo Vice though.” Another one added: “I wanna watch tokyo vice but i can't stand looking at ansel elgort's face.”