Marlee Matlin’s Accusations of Sexual Assault Against William Hurt Resurface

In 2010, Marlee Matlin accused William Hurt of sexually assaulting and abusing her during their relationship in the 1980s. The allegations are coming to light again in the aftermath of scandals involving powerful men in Hollywood.

The Daily Beast reported on excerpts from Matlin’s 2010 memoir I’ll Scream Later. In the book, Marlin wrote about the moments after she won her Oscar in 1987 for Children Of A Lesser God, which co-starred Hurt. She was 21 years old and became the first deaf actress to win the award. Hurt presented her with the award in what should have been the best night of her life. Instead, it wasn’t.

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Matlin alleges Hurt berated her after the awards, asking her, “What makes you think you deserve it?” She claims he told her, “There are hundreds of actors who have worked for years for the recognition you just got handed to you. Think about that.”

The New York Daily News reported in 1999 that Matlin also discussed the allegations during a lecture. Matlin met Hurt when she was 19 and he was 35.

In I’ll Scream Later, Matlin also mentioned another incident during the production of 1987’s Broadcast News.

The actor “finally came home around 4:30 a.m. drunk and woke me up,” Matlin wrote. “The next thing I knew he’d pulled me out of the bed, screaming at me, shaking me. I was scared, I was sobbing. Then he threw me on the bed, started ripping off his clothes and mine. I was crying. ‘No, no, no. Please Bill, no.’ The next thing I remember is Bill ramming himself inside me as I sobbed.”

According to Matlin, the relationship took a toll on her life. When she tried to break up, “He said in that letter that he was guilt ridden about what he called his ‘physical anger.’ But he blamed me for doing things that made him crazy angry.”

The relationship ended after an argument turned violent and she feared for her life. “I was afraid I might not survive. I pulled myself free and ran to the phone… Before I could say anything, Bill yanked the phone out of my hand and slammed it down,” she wrote.

“I knew I couldn’t let myself go back — ever,” Matlin wrote. “I was terrified for two reasons: we would in all likelihood fight again, or just as bad, I might not have had the strength to leave.”

Before the book’s release, Matlin spoke with Access Hollywood about Hurt’s alleged abuse. Matlin said she never spoke with Hurt about the book and the last time she saw him was three years before it came out.

“My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives,” Hurt told Access Hollywood in a statement. “Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we both have grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good.”

Hurt was also involved in a palimony trial in 1989 after his ex-girlfriend Sandra Jennings claimed they lived in a common-law marriage, which gave her the right to $5 million of his earnings. Jennings told PEOPLE and other media outlets in 1989 that Hurt abused her.

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“He’d have one drink and he’d have a personality change,” Jennings told PEOPLE in 1989. “Then when he didn’t drink for a couple of days, he’d get violent. I started seeing it, and that’s why I started going to Al-Anon meetings. But he was absolutely refusing to talk about it at that time, or consider it.”

In 1989, Hurt denied abusing Jennings.