Actor and comedian T.J. Miller has been accused of sexual assault in a disturbing Daily Beast report published Tuesday.
An unnamed former college classmate accused the former Silicon Valley star of violently escalating sexual encounters in 2003. According to the report, Miller choked her, punched her and penetrated her with a beer bottle without her consent.
The woman was in a comedy troupe with Miller in college, and she eventually left the Los Angeles comedy scene partially because she would see him at venues and in the media as his star rose, which were painful reminders.
"It is unfathomable to me that he doesn't understand that he actually put me through something I have to live with, that I never would've chosen, that completely, completely set the tone for my sexual adult life, that I actively had to spend years and years... un-programming," she said.
In the years since, when the allegations would come up in private conversations, Miller reportedly denied them, but has also allegedly joked about punching a woman when he was in college, according to two independent sources. According to comedy festival organizer Maura Brown, "very commonly, women have warned each other [in entertainment] about [Miller]... and about what happened in college," but the rumors haven't had a noticeable impact on Miller's increasingly successful career.
Miller, in a joint statement with his wife Kate, denied the claims, saying that his accuser "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 Millers also claim that the accuser has been plotting to take down the couple since college. "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 Millers wrote. "She was asked to leave our university comedy group because of worrisome and disturbing behavior, which angered her immensely, she then became fixated on our relationship, and began telling people around campus 'I'm going to destroy them' and 'I'm going to ruin him.'"
The accuser, who was reportedly hesitant to come forward with the allegations, denied these claims against her, explaining that she has never had a vendetta against the comedian. "He was a friend to me before [the incidents], and he had been there for me before that," she said. "I didn't want him in jail. I didn't hate him. He was someone I cared about... I don't want to mess up his life. But he behaved in a way towards me that I have to live with... [and] I don't think it's appropriate that I carry this by myself."
Miller left the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley earlier this year acrimoniously, and also did a stand-up special for the network. He also stars on Comedy Central's The Gorburger Show.
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