Avengers Star Faces Shocking Allegations from Former Collaborator
Marvel actor Jeremy Renner is facing serious accusations from Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou, who claims he sent her unsolicited explicit material, behaved aggressively while drunk, and threatened to report her to immigration authorities after their personal and professional relationship soured.
The 37-year-old filmmaker, who collaborated with the 54-year-old actor on two projects, detailed her allegations in a series of Instagram posts this week, describing a pattern of behaviour that left her fearing for her safety.
A Professional Relationship Turns Personal
According to Zhou, her collaboration with the Hollywood star began professionally in June when Renner first contacted her. They worked together on a documentary about Disney workers titled Chronicles of Disney and an animated feature called Stardust Future.
However, Zhou alleges the relationship soon turned personal, with Renner initiating contact and beginning to send "personal and intimate photographs" and sexually explicit material without her consent.
"He convinced me of his sincerity, saying he had been single for a long time and open to a long-term relationship," Zhou wrote in her social media posts, explaining that she initially believed his advances were genuine despite finding the inappropriate conduct unsettling.
Zhou provided the Daily Mail with a screenshot of what she claims is a porn video clip Renner texted her, showing a male and female porn actor in a sex scene. The message allegedly accompanying it read: "This ok ???" alongside a drooling emoji.
Alleged Aggressive Behaviour and Safety Fears
The filmmaker recounted a particularly disturbing incident to the Daily Mail, describing a meeting about their film at Renner's home where she says the actor became intoxicated and aggressive.
"I was discussing about the doc logistics, then he drank a bottle of wine alone and got angry and was angry yelling for two hours," Zhou claimed.
She stated that she felt so threatened that she locked herself in a bathroom for safety and shared her location with her team, parents, and Disney colleagues in case something happened to her.
"I had to lock myself in a room to be safe praying he would not come into the room at night as he was really angry. I did not say a word, I was so scared for my life," Zhou told the publication.
Text messages published by the paper appear to show her describing the incident to co-workers in real time, referring to Renner as "violent" and "crazy."
The ICE Threat and Aftermath
Zhou alleges that after she privately confronted Renner about his behaviour and asked him to "respect [her] as a woman and a filmmaker," he responded by threatening to contact immigration authorities.
Screenshots shared with the outlet appear to show Renner writing, "Immigration will be notified of your," though the remainder of the message is cut off.
In her most recent Instagram post, Zhou described the situation as "a developing story of cyber flashing / unsolicited porn and smear campaign and domestic violence," and claimed she has since learned there may be another victim.
Zhou also accused Renner of publicly denying their romantic relationship and failing to promote the two films they created together. "He used me and denied me and denied our work," she said.
The filmmaker acknowledged that speaking out was a difficult decision but one she felt was necessary to "protect her name and the integrity of her work."
"It took me a long time before I had the courage to write this and speak up," she wrote, thanking her friends and colleagues for their support.
Zhou's statements have not yet been independently verified, and Renner has not publicly responded to the allegations. Representatives for the actor did not immediately reply to requests for comment from Metro.
