'Wednesday' Actor Percy Hynes White Addresses Sexual Assault Allegations
Wednesday star Percy Hynes White is responding to sexual assault allegations against him, calling them a "campaign of misinformation." The 21-year-old actor took to Instagram with a statement Tuesday, responding to the claims about his behavior that first surfaced on social media in January.
"Earlier this year, somebody I've never met started a campaign of misinformation about me online. Because of this, my family has been doxxed, and my friends have received death threats," Hynes White wrote in his statement. "Underage photos of me were used, and examples of me acting in character were presented as hateful. My friend Jane was falsely portrayed as a victim, and her attempts to set the record straight have been ignored. She gave me permission to include her in this message."
He continued, "The rumors are false. I can't accept the portrayal of me as someone bigoted, or criminally negligent of people's safety. These are the kind of baseless, harmful claims that can create mistrust toward victims. It's very distressing to know that this misinformation has upset people. I'm really thankful for everyone who's stood by me and helped share the facts. Harassment of my family, friends and coworkers needs to stop please. Thank you for taking the time to read this."
Hynes White came under fire on Jan. 18, when a Twitter user alleged that The Gifted actor had sexually assaulted her at a party he hosted in Toronto and that he had also allegedly assaulted other women. The Twitter user, who has since deleted the original tweet, claimed that Hynes White and his friends would throw parties and provide alcohol and drugs to minors in order to have sex with them. "He would pursue, have sex with, abuse and get my friend high who was 13/14 at the time. Last time I knew they had sex she was 16 and he was 20. He assaulted me at one of those parties awhile I was too drunk, and he had cornered and pressured and assaulted multiple of my friends," the since-deleted tweet read.
Other allegations of a similar nature appeared on Twitter in the aftermath of the initial tweet, with many Wednesday fans calling on Netflix to fire Hynes White. The Canadian actor played Xavier Thorpe in Season 1 of Wednesday, which was announced on Jan. 6 as returning for a second season after quickly becoming one of Netflix's most popular shows of all time.