X-Men director accused of ‘emotional abuse’ by former partner

‘X-Men’ and ‘The Usual Suspects’ director Bryan Singer has been accused of “emotional abuse,” with the former assistant who became his partner detailing their “abusive relationship.”

In an interview with Variety Magazine, 30-year-old Blake Stuerman revealed details of his four-year-long abusive relationship with the famous Hollywood director Brian Singer. He revealed that he was a teenager when he started dating Singer, who was 25 years older. Stuerman accuses the director of mental and emotional abuse that left him traumatized. 

Stuerman detailed the first time he realized he was in an abusive relationship, when Singer reportedly violently assaulted a guest at a party in 2012 and later told Stuerman he would kill him if he ever left him. After that, Singer allegedly “controlled every aspect” of Stuerman’s life, and repeatedly threatened and shouted at him. The experience reportedly left Stuerman with severe depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, which led him to seek therapy for several years. 

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Singer’s lawyer has denied the allegations, describing them as “uncorroborated, inflammatory, and highly derogatory.” However, he has yet to comment on some of the specific accusations, such as the alleged 2012 violent assault on the guest, and the sexual relationship between the 43-year-old director and Stuerman, who was “freshly 18” at the time they met.

This isn’t the first time Singer has faced controversy – the director has faced numerous lawsuits over the years in which he was accused of sexually abusing or raping minors. Some of those cases were reportedly settled out of court, while others were withdrawn.

Since the allegations became public, Singer has lost several directing jobs, and the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ biopic he directed was removed from the nominations list of the GLAAD awards. GLAAD is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization that was founded in protest at the defamatory coverage of LGBTQ people.