Four women accuse Jared Leto of criminal sexual conduct as teenagers in BBC documentary
A new BBC documentary, Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, features 10 women who say they encountered the actor between 2002 and 2016, when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s and 40s. Four accuse him of criminal sexual conduct.
The BBC documentary
On 29 July 2026, the BBC released a documentary titled Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, in which 10 women describe encounters with the Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman between 2002 and 2016. Nine of the women are speaking publicly for the first time. Leto, now 54, was in his 30s and 40s at the time of the alleged incidents. The documentary includes accounts from friends, family members, and former staff who say they were told about the encounters at the time.
Four criminal accusations
Four women accuse Leto of criminal sexual conduct when they were teenagers. Isabel, a pseudonym, says Leto sexually assaulted her in a Las Vegas motel bathroom in 2002, when she was 17. She alleges he grabbed her hand and used it to masturbate himself while he was in the shower.
Alarms started going off in my head. In that moment, I definitely realized I was not in a great situation.
Alex, then 19, says she was threatened with sexual assault after a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert at London's O2 Arena in 2013. She says she was encouraged to attend an after-party and walked into a dark hotel room where Leto was alone, who allegedly told her she would wake up "with a dick in her ass." She left and texted a friend, who replied: "He was threatening sexual assault, you should report him."
Clara says she had sex with Leto in California in 2006 when she was 17, which would be statutory rape under state law. Leto was 34. She says he "shrugged off" a conversation about the age of consent being 18.
Etta says she was groomed by Leto starting at age 16 after meeting him at a Los Angeles modelling agency in 2014. She alleges he made repeated sexually explicit phone calls and at least once suggested they have sex. She was later sent a non-disclosure agreement, which the BBC has seen, but she refused to sign.
- Isabel alleges sexual assault in a Las Vegas motel bathroom
- Clara alleges statutory rape in California
- Alex alleges sexual threat in a London hotel room
- Etta alleges grooming and sexually explicit phone calls starting at age 16
Other allegations and staff accounts
Four further women say they received strange and often highly sexual phone calls from Leto when they were younger. Another woman, then 14, says Leto made a lewd comment about her chest during an autograph signing at a music festival and then instructed a security guard to take her backstage. Her mother confronted him, but he allegedly repeated the comment.
Two men who worked with Thirty Seconds to Mars for years told the documentary that staff were uncomfortable with how Leto interacted with teenage fans, sometimes inviting them to his dressing room or recording house.
I think everyone thought the age gap was way too big.
- Criminal sexual conduct accusations
- 4 women
- Sexual phone calls
- 4 women
- Backstage incident
- 1 women
Corroboration and Leto's response
The BBC says it corroborated several accounts with friends and family who were told about the encounters at the time, and in some cases reviewed pictures and messages that support the women's stories. The broadcaster also says it has counted more than 120 online reports about Leto's behaviour toward women, though many are unverified.
Leto did not respond to the BBC's repeated requests for comment. Deadline said it had contacted his representatives for comment. In June 2025, nine women accused Leto of misconduct in an Air Mail article; he denied the allegations through a spokesperson at that time.
One alleged victim told the BBC: "This was 25 years ago... he has gotten away with it."
