‘Animal House’ Director John Landis’ Son Max Accused of Sexual Assault by Multiple Women

Screenwriter Max Landis is facing eight different sexual assault allegations in an explosive report by The Daily Beast on Tuesday.

Landis was called out by eight women this week, all claiming that the son of director John Landis has sexually assaulted them. The first accusation against Landis — known for writing the scripts for Bright and Chronicle — came from his ex-girlfriend Ani Baker. Months after breaking up with Landis and demanding that he cease all contact with her, Baker discovered that she was still featured in the “Highlights” section of his Instagram Stories.

“If you have found my page via Max Landis, hi,” Baker wrote in response. “I’m going to give you some direct info I wish I had gotten, because the experience/aftermath of this person is really destructive, and it will be riddled with pain and emotional work that you don’t need to spend your precious energy on.”

Baker told The Daily Beast that she got messages in response in no time, many from other women with similar stories about the screenwriter.

“Women that I had never heard of who are like, I too was tortured by this person,” she noted. “It gets worse every day. Every story I hear, I’m like, how did I think I knew this person? It’s horrifying. But I just feel like I need to be as honest as possible, since my goal in this is to help other people to not be in the same position.”

Before long, Baker was joined by an ex-girlfriend identified only as Julie, who gave a written statement to The Daily Beast.

“Even up until the end of last year, I told Max that after everything I still believed he was a Good Person and that he was Trying,” she said. “In short, the reason I let him back into my life was his subsequent relationships. The incredible, smart, nurturing and empathetic women he conned into a relationship after me seemed to vouch for his improvement and I thought, if these women believe in him, he must have learned. Just by association he seemed like a better person.”

The specifics of the accusations varied in intensity and horror, but most included some combination of psychological and sexual manipulation. Julie wrote that she was threatened with beatings and breakups in equal measure, and faced a running onslaught of critiques of her body in front of friends. She also claimed that he showed her horrifying pornography, and as time paced he became more open about his interest in violent sexual activities.

Baker’s accusation also brought back a few other past allegations against him, including a 2017 social media outcry by multiple industry professionals. One included a tweet from actress Anna Akana, who responded to a Netflix promotion for Bright.

“Written by a psychopath who sexually abused and assaults women, right? Cool,” she wrote.

Writer and musician Allie Goertz added her voice to the din as well, noting the connection between Landis and his father, one of the industry’s favorite creators.

“I can’t imagine who is more scared in a post-Weinstein world than a famous director’s son,” Goertz wrote.

The conversation about Landis continues to dominate social media.