It’s bad enough that Terry Crews has yet to receive any justice for the assault he experienced at the hands of Adam Venit. But to make matters worse, Terry is still being persecuted for perusing justice on the matter. We learned in February that Terry had been asked to drop his case against Venit or his role in The Expendables 4 would be in jeopardy. Well, guess what – they weren’t kidding. Because Expendables producer, Avi Lerner, is a fellow predator with his own harassment and disparity lawsuit, he decided to protect Venit and go after Terry. But we’ll see who gets the last laugh because Terry just finished testifying at the congressional hearing to pass the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill. The fact that he was threatened with ‘troubles’ if he didn’t drop his suit is now a matter of congressional record.

Terry Crews said he was threatened with retaliation for speaking out about a sexual assault by a Hollywood agent, saying the producer of The Expendables 4 warned of vague “troubles” unless he withdraws his civil suit.

In testimony this morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Crews said Expendables producer Avi Lerner called his manager and asked that the actor to drop his case against Adam Venit in order to appear in the fourth installment of the action film.

Asked By Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked Crews if he has a role in the sequel.

“No. Simply because this same producer is under his own … investigation,” said Crews. “Abusers protect abusers — and this is one thing I had to decide, whether I was going to draw the line on. Am I going to be a part of this or am I gonna take a stand, and there are projects I had to turn down.”

“Hollywood definitely has been a problem area, simply because so many people view this as a dream. And what happens is, someone has power over these dreams,” Crews said. “And what happens also is that you get tricked into thinking that this type of behavior is expected, that it’s part of the job, that this harassment, abuse, even rape is part of your job description.”

The actor told the Senators he had no plans to speak out about the incident, doubting that law enforcement would take such allegations seriously.

“I probably would have been laughed out of the police station,” Crews said. “A year later, once the #MeToo movement took full swing, it was safe to come out. When you are victimized, you are now behind enemy lines and you are trying to find a way out … You’re trying to find your way to safety. No one around is going to help you. No one is going to believe you.”

Crews said that’s especially true of males who are victimized by other men. He said the predator will dismiss the incident as “horseplay,” and brush off the charges as a joke. “They treat you like a joke.” The actor ultimately felt compelled to take a stand against to prevent others from being victimized.

“What happened to me has happened to many many other men in Hollywood, and since I came forward with my story I have had thousands and thousands of men come to me and say ‘Me too, this is my story. But I did not have the confidence, or I did not feel safe enough, to come out,’” Crews said in testimony. “Because what happens is you get blacklisted, your career is in danger — after that, no one wants to work with you.”

[From Deadline]

You can read Terry’s full prepared statement on Vulture. It is inconceivable that after the lid was torn off the insidious culture in Hollywood that people are still getting away with this crap. We were told of Lerner’s blackmail against Terry four months ago and yet, Expendables 4 is still going forward, Sylvester Stallone is supposedly still starring in it. Not to mention, that jackass Venit is still gainfully employed at William Morris Endeavor. We’ve learned stories such as Brendan Fraser’s that reinforce how many men have been victimized at the hands of other men.

Validating Terry’s comments about victims being persecuted, rapper 50 Cent, who is being sued for posting revenge porn, mocked Terry on Instagram, posting vile messages along with photos of Terry in two now-deleted posts, which you can see here.

Russell Simmons, who is also under investigation for the rape and assault of at least four women and who asked Terry to give Venit “a pass,” commented on 50 Cent’s first post with a crying laughing face.

Predators protect predators. Terry is risking his career and fighting for victims without power while abusers hurl childish insults at him. Terry handled 50 Cent’s idiocy with class. When asked about the posts, Terry said, “I love 50 Cent, I listen to his music while I’m working out.” When pressed further, Crews added, “I prove that size doesn’t matter when it comes to sexual assault.” This just emphasizes how important it is to keep up the fight. Voices like Terry’s and bills like the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights will help. The author of the bill, RISE founder Amanda Nguyen, was just nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – chalk one up for the good guys.

I asked @TerryCrews why he didn’t use his considerable strength to fight back when he was sexually assaulted. His answer is a powerful reminder of how victims are too often forced into silence to avoid damaging their careers or reputations. We need to hear the truth. pic.twitter.com/8xSxnhXj91

— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) June 26, 2018

“I was told, over and over again, the rights my perpetrator had, but I was never told what my rights were as a survivor.” – @terrycrews at the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing #survivorsbillofrights

— Rise (@RiseNowUS) June 26, 2018

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Embed from Getty Images

Photo credit: WENN Photos, Getty Images and Twitter