Eliza Dushku Says That She Was Molested At Age 12 While Filming “True Lies”
Faith the Vampire Slayer is my girl. Buffy was always a little too whiny with all the “why me – I’m absurdly pretty and it’s the Apocalypse again and it’s not fair!” bullshit. Faith just pulled up, punched vampires to death, and went for a beer with little to no complaint. Faith’s portrayer Eliza Dushku played the character to perfection. She’s a hometown girl so she has plenty of stans here in Boston, and with good reason. So it’s painful and sad to read her recent account of allegedly being molested at age 12 while she was filming 1994’s True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. Eliza is accusing the film’s stunt coordinator, Joel Kramer, of being the man who “groomed” and molested her.
In a Facebook post, Eliza wrote that Joel took her out for sushi and then “lured her” to his hotel room. Leave it to an alleged kid creeper to fuck up delicious sushi for her and everyone else reading this post.
“I remember vividly how he methodically drew the shades and turned down the lights; how he cranked up the air-conditioning to what felt like freezing levels, where exactly he placed me on one of the two hotel room beds, what movie he put on the television (Coneheads); how he disappeared in the bathroom and emerged, naked, bearing nothing but a small hand towel held flimsy at his mid-section,” Dushku wrote.
She goes on to allege that she was subjected to the usual panicky diddler bullshit afterwards, with him telling her not to tell anyone. She also claims that he pulled her on to his lap in the cab on the way back to her parents. She told a “tough adult friend” about what happened and said friend had a word with Kramer. This seems to have backfired because things got pretty terrifying. If this is true, this Kramer guy might be Satan.
That same day, “by no small coincidence,” Dushku writes, she broke ribs in what she says what a stunt that went wrong.
“To be clear, over the course of those months rehearsing and filming True Lies, it was Joel Kramer who was responsible for my safety on a film that at the time broke new ground for action films,” she wrote. “On a daily basis he rigged wires and harnesses on my 12 year old body. My life was literally in his hands: he hung me in the open air, from a tower crane, atop an office tower, 25+ stories high. Whereas he was supposed to be my protector, he was my abuser.”
Eliza says that she was moved to tell her story after feeling “haunted” upon seeing a photo online of Kramer hugging a young girl, as well as noting all of the other women coming forward with their own stories.
“Sharing these words, finally calling my abuser out publicly by name, brings the start of a new calm,” she wrote.
Kramer, who still works in the industry on films like Blade Runner 2049 and TV shows like Westworld, is denying all of Eliza’s allegations.
When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter by phone on Saturday, Kramer denied the accusations, calling them “atrocious lies.” He said he was “floored” and that Dushku’s claims were hitting him “like a sledgehammer.” Adding, “I’m already getting emails that people want to kill me.”
Kramer admitted that him and his crew took Eliza out for dinner but says that he was never alone with her. He also thought it prudent to bring up that 12-year-old Eliza allegedly had a crush on him.
According to Kramer, he says an assistant on set had told him Dushku had a crush on him. “I don’t know what goes through a young girl’s mind, I don’t know what goes through anyone’s mind,” he said. “Something set her off somewhere.”
Kramer says that he will contact an attorney about her allegations. He also denies her claim that he might have purposely injured her.
“We took care of her like she was our kid. It was important that Eliza trusted me and the stunt team. Especially with a minor. I’ve never gotten anybody hurt.”
This was a disturbing, distressing post but I have an idea. Yes, the holidays are over but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch the Christmas episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, Eliza’s character Faith eventually ends up snapping her tether and becoming one of the Big Bads of Season 3. But, before that, she’s a tough, semi-hostile but still hopeful young lady who’s just looking for a friend. Buffy invites her to spend Christmas Eve with her and her mom. Faith initially lies and says she has plans. But then she shows up and has people with which to spend Xmas. Like I said – heartwarming. There’s also this bit where a sudden snowfall in the California town of Sunnydale stops Buffy’s boyfriend from offing himself and results in a touching montage of all the characters reacting to the magic snow. It will fill you with warmth as you try to navigate these unfortunately dark and rapey times. *sad-face*
Pic: Instagram