The Apprentice director Ali Abbasi addresses groping allegations
Abbasi called the "over-familiar gesture" a "slap on the rear" that "was intended as playful and not in any sexual way."
Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
Ali Abbasi has now issued a statement addressing allegations that he groped an unnamed “A-list actor” at a Golden Globes afterparty back in January. The Apprentice director—who’s up for a Best Director award at today’s Independent Spirit Awards, while his stars Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong are both nominated for Oscars for their roles in the Donald Trump-focused film—gave a statement, quoted by The Wrap today, characterizing the “over-familiar gesture,” as a “slap on the rear” while claiming that the incident in question was “intended as playful and not in any sexual way whatsoever.”
While noting that “I fully understand that my action made someone uncomfortable, regardless of my intent, and for that I am truly sorry,” Abbasi also pushed back on assertions that the incident led him to part ways with his U.S.-based representatives CAA and 360 Entertainment, as previously reported by Deadline. “The suggestion that I was dropped by my representation due to this interaction is false,” Abbasi writes. “My decision to part ways was a long-term career decision that was not shaped by short-term motivations. I believe in taking accountability for my actions.”