Cole Sprouse enjoys a smoke after he was ‘falsely accused of sexual assault with three Riverdale castmates’
Cole Sprouse appeared relaxed as he took a drag from a cigarette, a week after he was ‘falsely accused of sexual assault alongside three Riverdale co-stars.’
While the 27-year-old Riverdale star enjoyed a smoke after dinner in Malibu on Friday, he sported a pair of grey trousers and a matching three-quarter button-down.
He layered his hipster ensemble over a white tank and wore a red bandanna around his neck.
Carefree: Cole Sprouse appeared relaxed as he took a drag from a cigarette, a week after he was ‘falsely accused of sexual assault alongside three Riverdale co-stars’
The Disney alum steadily glanced down at his phone, as he stepped out looking tan and at ease after the allegations.
His Riverdale co-stars KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Vanessa Morgan and KJ Apa were also accused of sexual misconduct by several anonymous Twitter accounts, which all four have vehemently denied and called ‘false.’
Cole spoke out about the allegations in a series of Tweets hours later, with him and Lili looking into legal action.
Causal: While the 27-year-old Riverdale star enjoyed a smoke after dinner in Malibu on Friday, he sported a grey trousers and a matching three-quarter button-down
The actor wrote: ‘Earlier today myself and three other cast mates were falsely accused of sexual offense by anonymous accounts on twitter. I take these accusations very seriously, and will be working with the right teams to get to the root of it.’
Cole continued: ‘False accusations do tremendous damage to victims of actual assault. Furthermore, I would never silence anybody. I encourage that people look into the accusations themselves, as the events detailed were factually untrue.’
Lili, who was accused on another anonymous account, quoted his tweet minutes later and added her statement: ‘I have always taken sexual assault allegations seriously. But it was proven that this account was specifically to create false stories about me and my cast.
His statement: Cole took to Twitter on Sunday to deny the accusations made against him and his three other cast mates
She said: ‘I can’t think of something more twisted than lying about sexual assault. It invalidates the men and women who are brave enough to come forward with the truth. This kind of lie can ruin lives and careers – and I can call it a lie because the person who made the allegations already admitted that the stories were fabricated.’
She wrote: ‘We are looking into taking legal action. This kind of sick behavior only harms true survivors. This was incredibly triggering for me and scary because I’ve always supported survivors and believed them.’
Lili, 23, concluded: ‘I hope and pray that this does not discourage real survivors from speaking out about their experiences.’
Her statement: Lili quoted his tweet minutes later and added her statement
The accusations against Cole came from an anonymous account with the handle @Victori6680029; the user alleged sexual misconduct by Cole at a party in 2013 at New York University.
Accusations against Lili, Vanessa and KJ arose from other anonymous Twitter accounts, with one of those accounts later tweeting: ‘Do you see how easy it is to lie and you guys believe it? Vanessa Morgan and Kj Apa didn’t do jacks**t. You will believe anything,’ via Us Weekly.
Riverdale’s Madelaine Petsch came to their defense and tweeted: ‘As someone who has been sexually assaulted, I am deeply disturbed that anyone thinks that it is okay to falsely accuse someone of sexual assault.
Speaking out: Riverdale co-star Madelaine Petsch came to their defense
‘This is why real assault allegations can sometimes not be taken seriously, you should be ashamed. This is disgusting.’
While Camila Mendes also spoke out against the allegations, saying it was ‘sickening’ and ‘incredibly destructive to falsely accuse people of sexual assault.’
‘It’s so insane to me that somebody would do such a thing, to prove a point. It seems so trivial,’ the actress pointed out on The Jess Cagle Show.
Cast: Cole spoke out about the allegations in a series of Tweets hours soon after the accusations were made, with him and Lili looking into legal action; pictured (L to R): Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, Luke Perry, Camilla Mendes, KJ Apa, Madelaine Petsch and Ashleigh Murray in 2016