Broadway big Ben Vereen accused of sexual assault during 'Hair'
When Ben Vereen held auditions for “Hair” at a community theatre in Florida in 2015, the Tony winner said he wanted to break new ground with the rock musical.
But in a sickening twist, several young actresses cast in the show claim the Broadway legend’s sexually abusive behavior nearly broke them.
The women — part of the Venice Theatre production outside of Tampa — say Vereen forced unwanted kisses, hugged them aggressively, stripped naked during an acting exercise and made degrading comments about their weight, sex appeal and personal lives.
Two of the actresses told the Daily News that Vereen lured them to his Florida rental home on separate occasions in September 2015 under the guise of “private rehearsals.” Then he pressed his erect penis into their legs without warning.
Kaitlyn Terpstra was 22 years old at the time. The other actress, who asked to be identified by only her first name, Kim, was 23 years old.
Vereen was weeks shy of his 69th birthday.
In a lengthy statement to the Daily News Thursday, Vereen did not deny the accusations.
“I would like to apologize directly to the female cast members of the musical ‘Hair’ for my inappropriate conduct when I directed the production in 2015,” he said.
The women, who first provided statements to Chris Peterson of the blog OnStage before speaking to The News, said they had no idea until recently that Vereen used the same lines on both of them to get them naked in his backyard hot tub.
“He gave this whole speech about how nudity was not inherently sexual. ‘That’s not what it’s about.’ He made me feel that if I wasn't mature enough to understand that, I wasn’t mature enough to be in ‘Hair,’” Terpstra told The News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...accused-sexual-assault-hair-article-1.3738684
When Ben Vereen held auditions for “Hair” at a community theatre in Florida in 2015, the Tony winner said he wanted to break new ground with the rock musical.
But in a sickening twist, several young actresses cast in the show claim the Broadway legend’s sexually abusive behavior nearly broke them.
The women — part of the Venice Theatre production outside of Tampa — say Vereen forced unwanted kisses, hugged them aggressively, stripped naked during an acting exercise and made degrading comments about their weight, sex appeal and personal lives.
Two of the actresses told the Daily News that Vereen lured them to his Florida rental home on separate occasions in September 2015 under the guise of “private rehearsals.” Then he pressed his erect penis into their legs without warning.
Kaitlyn Terpstra was 22 years old at the time. The other actress, who asked to be identified by only her first name, Kim, was 23 years old.
Vereen was weeks shy of his 69th birthday.
In a lengthy statement to the Daily News Thursday, Vereen did not deny the accusations.
“I would like to apologize directly to the female cast members of the musical ‘Hair’ for my inappropriate conduct when I directed the production in 2015,” he said.
The women, who first provided statements to Chris Peterson of the blog OnStage before speaking to The News, said they had no idea until recently that Vereen used the same lines on both of them to get them naked in his backyard hot tub.
“He gave this whole speech about how nudity was not inherently sexual. ‘That’s not what it’s about.’ He made me feel that if I wasn't mature enough to understand that, I wasn’t mature enough to be in ‘Hair,’” Terpstra told The News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...accused-sexual-assault-hair-article-1.3738684
