Not subtle. Emma Kenney wasn’t thrilled by Ansel Elgort‘s appearance at the 2022 Met Gala — and she wasn’t afraid to call it out.
“Who’s Ansel Elgort wearing to the met….Alexander Wang? 🙄🙄🙄,” the Shameless actress, 22, tweeted on Monday, May 2, after the actor, 28, was photographed in a suit on the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Elgort did not announce who designed his look for the event.
Kenney’s surprising social media post seemingly referred to Elgort attending fashion’s biggest night after previously being accused of sexual assault.
In June 2020, the Baby Driver star made headlines when a woman alleged that he assaulted her days after she turned 17. “He was in his 20s. He knew what he was doing,” Gabby wrote in a lengthy Twitter about the alleged 2014 encounter. “Ansel Elgort sexually assaulted me when I was 17. I had DMed him when it was two days before my 17th birthday, and I got his private Snapchat. I didn’t think he’d ever see my DM. I was just a kid and was a fan of him.”
The woman claimed that “instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time,” the Divergent alum forced himself on her and “made me think this is how sex was supposed to be.”
Gabby said that she stayed silent because Elgort allegedly said it could “ruin his career” if she spoke out. “Years later I have PTSD, I have panic attacks, I go to therapy,” she continued. “I just want to heal and I want other girls who have been through the same s–t as me, you’re not alone. It’s a lot for me to even come on here and tell my story but I know it’s needed.”
The West Side Story star, for his part, broke his silence days after the claims went viral. “I was distressed to see the social media posts about me that have been circulating in the past 24 hours,” he wrote on Instagram in June 2020. “I cannot claim to understand Gabby’s feelings but her description of events is simply not what happened.”
Elgort continued: “I have never and would never assault anyone. What is true is that in New York in 2014, when I was 20, Gabby and I had a brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship. Unfortunately, I did not handle the breakup well. I stopped responding to her, which is an immature and cruel thing to do to someone. I know this belated apology does not absolve me of my unacceptable behavior when I disappeared.”
The Golden Globe nominee concluded the post by acknowledging that he felt “disgusted and deeply ashamed” by his attitude at the time, adding, “I am truly sorry. I know I must continue to reflect, learn, and work to grow in empathy.”
Later that year, multiple people also came forward with assault allegations against Alexander Wang. Model Owen Mooney claimed that he was groped by the designer, 38, in 2017. At the time, Wang referred to the accusations as “false, fabricated and mostly anonymous.”
“Over the last few days, I have been on the receiving end of baseless and grotesquely false accusations. These claims have been wrongfully amplified by social media accounts infamous for posting defamatory material from undisclosed and/or anonymous sources with zero evidence or any fact checking whatsoever,” he said in a statement in December 2020.
The California native added: “Seeing these lies about me being perpetuated as truths has been infuriating. I have never engaged in the atrocious behavior described and would never conduct myself in the manner that’s been alleged. I intend to get to the bottom of this and hold accountable whoever is responsible for originating these claims and viciously spreading them online.”
The former creative director at Balenciaga later issued another message that apologized for “acting in a way” that caused pain for his accusers. “A number of individuals have come forward recently to raise claims against me regarding my past personal behavior,” he wrote via Instagram in March 2021. “I support their right to come forward, and I’ve listened carefully to what they had to say. It was not easy for them to share their stories, and I regret acting in a way that caused them pain.”
Wang concluded: “While we disagree on some of the details of these personal interactions, I will set a better example and use my visibility and influence to encourage others to recognize harmful behaviors. Life is about learning and growth, and now that I know better, I will do better.”
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.
