EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood’s response to the criminal sexual conduct allegations against Jared Leto will be revealing of where the industry stands on the MeToo movement. That’s the view of Mike Radford, the executive producer behind Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, the explosive BBC documentary about the Oscar-winning Dallas Buyers Club star.

The documentary, which premiered without any pre-publicity on Wednesday, detailed the experiences of 10 women, four of whom accused Leto of criminal sexual conduct. Leto has denied the allegations. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false,” he said in a statement.

In an interview with Deadline, Radford said: “The Jared Leto case is a bellwether on where we are on the MeToo movement. There has been a lot of pushback in that area, and how the industry responds to the allegations about Jared Leto will tell us where the industry — both music and film — stands when serious allegations are made against one of their most powerful people.”

The BBC’s documentary is not the first time Leto has faced claims of misconduct. Allegations about Leto first took flight last year when Los Angeles DJ Allie Teilz posted on Instagram saying she had been assaulted by the actor when she was 17. This led to a report in U.S. media outlet Air Mail last year, in which nine women accused Leto of engaging in inappropriate behavior. 

The report did not stop Leto from promoting Tron: Ares for Disney, but he was noticeably absent from the publicity campaign for Masters of the Universe, including not showing up at the premiere of the Amazon movie. His band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, is scheduled to tour next year.

Jessica Sartenaer, who produced and presents Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, said allegations about Leto have bubbled away on the internet for years. The BBC has counted 120 separate accusations made online relating to his behavior towards women.

“People haven’t been paying attention,” Sartenaer told Deadline. She hopes this will change after the interest in Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, which is being distributed internationally by BBC Studios.

“I feel like it will be very difficult for him to ride this one out. People are 1785435533 really paying attention, and I just don’t see how he could be attached to another Hollywood project. However, I think his music career is maybe separate from that. He’s still got some diehard Thirty Seconds to Mars fans.”

Sartenaer began work on the BBC documentary last year after development producer Harry Pick spotted Teilz’s post on Instagram. Radford, who works in the BBC’s current affairs unit, took the project under his wing, having overseen similar documentaries, including Tim Westwood, Abuse of Power and Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. The Leto film was directed by Alice McShane, whose credits include Russell Brand: In Plain Sight. Radford said the BBC’s public funding makes it uniquely well-positioned to shoulder lengthy journalistic investigations.

“We were really fortunate to have had that amount of time,” Sartenaer said. “These investigations are about building trust with people, with contributors, with sources. They are entrusting you with their most personal stories, something they have carried with them for years.”

Radford said the stories of Clara and Isabel (both pseudonyms) were important to getting the documentary over the line. Clara described how in 2006 she had sex with Leto at his home in California when she was 17, which would be classified as statutory rape in the state. Isabel, who appears on camera in the BBC film, alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Leto in Las Vegas in 2002.

They gave Leto and his representatives more than two weeks to respond to the allegations, but they did not reply to the BBC’s requests for comment. Leto only issued his denial hours after the documentary was released — and even then, the statement was not shared with Radford, Sartenaer, and the team.

Sartenaer said: “The courage of the women who have come forward for this investigation is just immeasurable, coming up against a very powerful man like Leto. I do think what they have done will empower many other women to speak their truth.”

EXCLUSIVE: Fox‘s Memory of a Killer has added Natalie Zea (Fire Country, Chicago Med) to its Season 2 cast in a heavily recurring role. The new season is set to premiere midseason 2027 on Fox.

Inspired by the book and 2003 award-winning Belgian film De Zaak Alzheimer, Memory of a Killer stars Patrick Dempsey as Angelo Flannery/Doyle, who leads a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret; he is slowly losing his memory.

Zea will play Olivia, a brilliant, ambitious, yet sensitive businesswoman who always insisted on forging her own way — and she has, in ways no one yet suspects. In the aftermath of tragedy, she appears to be a woman undone by loss, but beneath the surface, this is a woman protecting something far more dangerous than a legacy. You love and trust her completely – right up until the moment you can’t…

In addition to Dempsey, the Season 1 cast includes Michael Imperioli, Peter Gadiot, Richard Harmon, Odeya Rush, and Daniel David Stewart. Deadline revealed earlier this week that Meta Golding would be joining the series regular cast for Season 2 as Mel, Angelo’s childhood sweetheart. 

Memory of a Killer is produced by Warner Bros Television and Fox Entertainment. Executive producers include Dempsey and showrunners Aaron Zelman and Glenn Kessler. Arthur Sarkissian and Martin Campbell also executive produce, along with Peter Bouckaert of Eyeworks.

Zea currently recurs as Dr. Camille Turston on the hit CBS drama Fire Country, a role that will not be affected by her work in Memory of a Killer. She most recently recurred on NBC’s long-running hit medical drama Chicago Med. She first gained recognition for her breakout role as Karen Darling on Greg Berlanti’s Dirty Sexy Money. Her body of work also includes roles on Graham Yost’s acclaimed FX drama Justified, Kevin Williamson’s thriller The Following, Mike Schiff’s CBS comedy The Unicorn, and NBC’s La Brea, on which she starred as the series lead for three seasons. She also starred in the TBS hit comedy The Detour, created by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee.

Beyond acting, Zea is a writer whose projects have been set up at FX, Universal Television, and Warner Bros. Television. She is currently developing a one-hour dramedy, Shake It, with Legendary Entertainment and Hyphenate Media Group. She made her directorial debut helming two episodes of The Detour.

Zea recently signed with TFC Management for representation in all areas. TFC is a full-service management and production company representing a roster of actors, writers, directors, producers and creators across film, TV and emerging media, while also developing and producing original content, most recently Margot’s Got Money Troubles for A24 and Apple. Zea will continue being represented by Innovative Artists and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown.