In  February 2016, actor Terry Crews alleged that Hollywood agent Adam Venit groped his groin twice. In November of 2017, Crews filed a police report, but the district attorney rejected a felony filing in March and sent the case to the city attorney, who said the case was barred by the statute of limitations.

The alleged groping did not rise to a felony because โ€” and this is real โ€” Venit did not make contact with Crewsโ€™ skin when the star said his genitals were grabbed.

Crews testified Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights. In a passionate speech, the actor opened up about โ€œthe cult of toxic masculinityโ€ based on his own experience and the damage that he said has been done to his career.

โ€œHollywood definitely has been a problem area, simply because so many people view this as a dream. And what happens is, someone has power over these dreams and what happens also is that you get tricked into thinking that this type of behavior is expected, that itโ€™s part of the job, that this harassment, abuse, even rape is part of your job description,โ€ he testified.

โ€œI probably would have been laughed out of the police station,โ€ he said of his own alleged experience of being assaulted. โ€œA year later, once the #MeToo movement took full swing, it was safe to come out. When you are victimized, you are now behind enemy lines and you are trying to find a way out โ€ฆ Youโ€™re trying to find your way to safety. No one around is going to help you. No one is going to believe you.โ€

He added: โ€œWhat happened to me has happened to many, many other men in Hollywood, and since I came forward with my story I have had thousands and thousands of men come to me and say โ€˜Me too, this is my story. But I did not have the confidence, or I did not feel safe enough, to come out. Because what happens is you get blacklisted, your career is in danger โ€” after that, no one wants to work with you.โ€

Crews also revealed he was fired from the โ€œExpendablesโ€ movie franchise when he refused to drop his lawsuit against Venit.

We have seen very little of Crews since he went public with being assaulted. We hope he is given a chance to work again.