Arnold Schwarzenegger said he is “shocked and saddened” by Eliza Dushku’s accusation that “True Lies” stuntman Joel Kramer sexually assaulted her when she was 12 during the making of the film.
The actor and former governor of California was replying to a tweet from fellow co-star Tom Arnold, telling him: “Tom, you bet your ass all of us would have done something.”
“I’m shocked and saddened for Eliza but I am also proud of her – beyond being a great talent and an amazing woman, she is so courageous,” Schwarzenegger added.
Kramer has denied the allegations made by Dushku, saying he “never sexual assaulted her.”
Dushku, now 37, wrote a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday saying that Kramer lured her into his hotel room in Miami and molested her. She said that when he was “finished,” he suggested they “should be careful” not to tell anyone.
When contacted by TheWrap, Kramer said, “Wow. That’s news to me. I never sexually assaulted her. She’s a sweet girl. We all looked out for her, that’s surprising.”
“I’m just shocked,” he added. “I don’t know why she would say that. We took her out to dinner and we took her to our hotel for a swim at the pool.”
Dushku played the teenage daughter of Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis’ characters in the 1994 action hit.
On Sunday, Curtis wrote a column for the Huffington Post calling for Hollywood to make changes to protect young actors on set.
“It is a complicated relationship working with children as they are being asked to do adult work with you in an adult field, surrounded by hundreds of adults who want them to perform for them, and yet are still inherently children,” Curtis wrote. “I have wrestled with my role as a mentor, colleague, surrogate, and friend, and each relationship is individual and unique. Are we really friends? Are we work mates? Children are not mature enough to recognize that subtle difference.”
James Cameron, who directed “True Lies” said on Saturday during a Television Critics Association panel that he hadn’t been aware of the accusation until then. “Directors are historically pretty oblivious to the interpersonal things on their set, being so focused on what they’re doing creatively,” he said. But he added that had he known about it, “there would have been no mercy.”
Kramer did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment regarding Schwarzenegger’s reaction.
Read Schwarzenegger’s tweet below.
Tom, you bet your ass all of us would have done something. I’m shocked and saddened for Eliza but I am also proud of her – beyond being a great talent and an amazing woman, she is so courageous. https://t.co/EJJbkdior2
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 16, 2018