Days after Eliza Dushku accused stunt coordinator Joel Kramer of sexual molestation on the set of 1994’s True Lies when she was 12 years old, more women have accused Kramer of misconduct, reports Deadline. Laura Albert, a stuntwoman who worked under Kramer on Virus, told Deadline that her 15-year-old sister’s friend, who was 16 at the time, had a sexual encounter with Kramer. Albert had invited the two girls, who were in the tenth grade, to go go-karting with the stunt cast in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Unbeknownst to me, my boss, Joel Kramer, had lured the girls to go swimming at the pool in his hotel,” Albert explained.
While in the pool, Albert claims that Kramer exposed his penis to her young sister, who promptly left. “My sister ended up leaving and she left her friend there with Joel,” Kramer said. “Joel had sex with the 16-year-old girl. She was 16. He was 39.” When Albert learned about the incident she called the Wilmington police who informed her the age of consent in North Carolina is 16.
Kramer did not dispute that the encounter happened, but he denied some of the details. Kramer claims the girls happened to be in the hotel pool while he was swimming laps and that Albert’s sister’s friend “on her own came to my room as she was legal age.” In his account the teenager was 17. He claims, “I honestly did not know she was 17 ….When I found out I was devastated.” He adds, “Yes, I absolutely almost made a huge mistake with the girl from the Wilmington shoot, as I said, I won’t lie about it.”
Another professional stuntwoman, who remained anonymous, claimed that Kramer assaulted her one night in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s. Though she did not work for Kramer, she says she met him at a gathering of people in the industry and wound up in his car after it was recommended that everyone carpool to another location. In his car the woman alleges that Kramer exposed himself and forced her to perform oral sex. She says that she remained silent about the misconduct out of fear for her career. “If I were to report this to the stunt group, the police, or SAG, I would have no chance in a career as a stuntwoman,” she said.
Kramer has denied the allegation. He told Deadline that it was a “fabrication.” He also referred to Dushku’s accusations as “outlandish, manipulated lies.” He denied her allegations, saying, “I never sexually molested her.”
According to Deadline, Dushku’s claims have been supported by her mother, brother, and former agent. Her True Lies co-star Jamie Lee Curtis wrote an essay about Dushku’s allegations, applauding the younger actor for stepping forward.
