Just days after Camila Mendes defended her Riverdale costars against “false” sexual assault allegations, the actress has opened up about why she decided to speak out.
“These are my friends, they’ve become my family over the years,” she explained to People Magazine in a new interview. “More than even being put in a situation where they’re being accused of something that they never did, the fact that this person went out of their way to potentially destroy these people’s careers, but also destroy the integrity of the #MeToo movement just to make a point about how easily people believe things, was so distasteful and destructive.”
For those who missed it, an anonymous Twitter account with the handle @Victori66680029 claimed — in a series of tweets posted on June 21, 2020 — that Cole Sprouse “became aggressive” and “shoved” her against a bed during a party at NYU in 2013. They added that they “told him multiple times to stop, and he wouldn’t listen.” Other Twitter accounts then accused Lili Reinhart, Vanessa Morgan and KJ Apa of sexual assault as well.
Afterwards, the 26-year-old took to her Instagram Stories to show her support for her castmates.
“It’s incredibly destructive to falsely accuse people of sexual assault. Whatever point this person was trying to make about how quickly people believe what they read, it was not worth damaging the integrity of the #MeToo movement,” she wrote on June 22, 2020. It’s sickening and doesn’t prove anything except that there are twisted people in this world who have no concern for the consequences of their harmful actions.”
“Sending love to my castmates who had to deal with this nonsense,” the brunette beauty added. “Love you guys.”
Cole also spoke out about the situation.
“Earlier today, myself and three other cast mates were falsely accused of sexual offense by anonymous accounts on Twitter. I take these accusations very seriously, and will be working with the right teams to get to the root of it,” he wrote on Twitter. “False accusations do tremendous damage to victims of actual assault. Furthermore, I would never seek to silence anybody. I encourage that people look into the accusations themselves, as the events detailed were factually untrue.”
Cole concluded his statement with, “This seems to be the latest claim in a series of incidents seeking to baselessly cancel my cast mates and me.”
Lili also denied the allegations and told followers that the cast is “looking into taking legal action.”
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
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