Actor-director Kevin Connolly is accused of sexually assaulting a costume designer during a 2005 wrap party in Manhattan, according to a report.
Gracie Cox, a South Carolina native who now works as a therapist for children, claims the 46-year-old former “Entourage” star attacked her during a wrap party at the now-shuttered Butter lounge in NoHo to celebrate his directorial debut with “The Gardener of Eden,” The Daily Beast reports.
“We were at the party and I don’t think I’d been there for more than an hour or so when Kevin approached me and asked if I’d go with him for a smoke,” said Cox, who was then 29.
Connolly, who denies the allegations, then led Cox “down a hall” to a VIP lounge area, she said.
“As soon as we were alone in that area, he started to kiss me,” Cox recalled. “I didn’t know how to respond — but before I could even think about what to do about it, he pulled me into one of those little side [booths], and pulled down my pants, and turned me around, and within no time was inside of me. I was just in shock.”
Connolly, who was not wearing a condom, then threw a pillow at Cox after he finished, she said. He proceeded to tell her to “clean” herself up, Cox claims.
“He then told me that he was going to leave and to wait a few minutes, because he didn’t want anyone to see us together,” she recalled.
Connolly, who has not been charged in the alleged attack, said in a statement issued by his attorney that he “categorically denies” assaulting Cox while admitting a “lack of professionalism” on his part in connection with the encounter.
“Kevin strongly supports victims of sexual assault and believes their claims should always be heard. As someone who has worked in this industry for four decades, he has treated people with nothing but respect and has maintained a stellar reputation,” attorney Marty Singer said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Therefore, he was completely shocked to learn of the allegations made by Gracie Cox from a wrap party in 2005.”
The statement concluded: “Kevin acknowledges the lack of professionalism on his part, but he adamantly denies that it was anything other than a mutual consensual encounter.”
Cox said she regrets not getting a rape kit done after the alleged assault, but was concerned about her future in the business at the time. She reached out to attorney Gloria Allred for help, but was turned away because the statute of limitations had passed, according to the report.
Cox said she’s no longer afraid of telling her side of the encounter despite Connolly’s allegedly long “reach” in the industry, and his more successful pals, such as actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who produced 2007’s “The Gardener of Eden.”
The people Connolly knows “have a lot of power,” Cox said.
She added: “I want it to be known that he is dangerous and I want him to not get away with it any longer.”