(CBS News) — Actor and comedian TJ Miller on Tuesday denied accusations of sexually assaulting a woman when he was in college. In an article in The Daily Beast, an anonymous woman accused Miller of choking and punching during a sexual encounters in 2001.
The report claims that the accusations were eventually addressed by a student court at George Washington University in Washington D.C.
“He just tried a lot of things without asking me, and at no point asked me if I was all right,” the woman told The Daily Beast. “He [choked] me, and I kept staring at his face hoping he would see that I was afraid and [that he] would stop. I couldn’t say anything.”
Miller, best known for his role in HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” posted a joint statement with his wife Kate to social media denying the woman’s version of the incident. “We met this woman over a decade ago while studying together in college, she attempted to break us up back then by plotting for over a year before making contradictory claims and accusations,” the statement said. “She attempted to discredit both of our voices and use us against one another by trying to portray Kate to be a continuous abuse victim of T.J. (further efforts to hurt the two of us).”
The statement added, “Sadly she is now using the current climate to bandwagon and launch these false accusations again. It is unfortunate that she is choosing this route as it undermines the important movement to make women feel safe coming forward about legitimate claims against real known predators.
The Daily Beast said it corroborated the accuser’s story with five “contemporaries” at the university and spoke to numerous associates of the two. Four friends who were in Miller and woman’s comedy troupe said Miller “couldn’t have done this,” but an ex-boyfriend of the woman told The Daily Beast that he still believes her account is true.
“At the time I believed the statements she made regarding the assault by Mr. Miller, and I continue to believe the statements she made are true,” he said.
A representative for Miller did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
Shortly after the report published, Comedy Central announced the decision to cancel Miller’s “The Gorburger Show” after one season, but said the decision predated the sexual assault allegations, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A source told the news outlet that the network made the decision back in July.
Adult film star Dana DeArmond also accused Miller and director Jordan Vogt-Roberts of sexual harassment on Tuesday. DeArmond tweeted that she was harassed by the pair on the set of shooting for Comedy Central’s “Mash Up.” She also claimed that Vogt-Roberts kissed her without her consent. “I said ‘no thank you’ he replied ‘don’t make this weird’ and kissed me anyway.”
