The Expendables franchise is moving ahead with a fourth installment, despite a continually declining box office return, but it’ll be doing so without one of its main stars: Terry Crews.
Crews testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier today regarding his sexual assault case against WME partner Adam Venit, revealing that at least one Hollywood producer — in this case, Expendables producer Avi Lerner — allegedly made vague threats of trouble for the actor if he opted not to drop the case. Lerner’s threats of “trouble” forced Crews to consider where he would draw the line and whether he was willing to work in an uncomfortable environment or take a stand. In this case, Crews ultimately decided to take a stand and therefore forfeited a role in Expendables 4 in the process.
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While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Crews was asked by Senator Amy Klobuchar if the actor still had a role in the upcoming film Expendables 4, despite the report that he’d been threatened by Lerner. The actor responded with a resounding “no,” before explaining that Lerner was also under his own investigation and that was why the actor believed he’d tried to get him to drop his case against Venit. “Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on,” he said. “Am I going to be a part of this or am I gonna take a stand, and there are projects I had to turn down.”
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor is one of few male stars to come forward regarding their own experiences of assault by some of the most powerful people in Hollywood. In Crews’ case, the act came at the hands of a high level Hollywood executive who didn’t seem to care Crews was at an event surrounded by others — including Crews’ wife — when he decided to inappropriately touch the actor. Since speaking out about his own experience, Crews has been a vocal part of the #MeToo movement, which is what led him to testify as part of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, a bill which provides new rights for victims of sexual violence in the federal criminal code.
As it stands, Expendables 4 does not have a release date, but it is expected to enter production in April 2019. This will mark the first film where Crews’ character Hale Caesar will not appear.
via Deadline