Best known for his role on the Marvel TV series Runaways, actor Kip Pardue is now seeing his name in headlines for an entirely different reason. According to recent reports Actress Sarah Scott claims the two were working together on a TV show pilot when Pardue sexually assaulted her by placing her hand on his genitals and making several inappropriate comments. The Runaways star has since acknowledged these claims and apologized for his actions, but with there now being zero tolerance for this type of behavior, the news will likely have a detrimental effect on both Pardue's life and career.

As relayed by Scott, she and Pardue were filming a sex scene together for the planned TV series, Mogulettes when the situation unfolded. During the shoot, Scott says Pardue became aroused, physically grabbing her hand and touching it against his penis. Because this happened earlier in the year during the rise of the Me Too movement, Scott was surprised by this, but went ahead with filming the scene. Afterward, Scott alleges Pardue called her into his dressing room and masturbated in front of her. When she questioned his behavior, Pardue is quoted as responding, "This isn't a Me Too thing. I'm not your employer. It's not like I can fire you."

Following the incident, Scott says she ran out of the room, horrified by what she had witnessed. With an acting career now spanning 14 years which even includes a stint on the sex-heavy HBO series True Blood, Scott has never witnessed this kind of situation. When later asking Pardue to explain his behavior, the actor reportedly responded by saying that Scott was "just so hot." Scott then informed the show's producers, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, as well as officially filing a police report.

It goes without saying that these sexual misconduct accusations are highly unsettling, and it's necessary to take them very seriously. In a statement, Pardue admits he placed Scott's hand on his genitals during the sex scene, insisting he misunderstood the situation. However, Pardue seems to be denying the the allegations about him masturbating in front of Scott while taunting her about the Me Too movement. The decision to go public with her story came about from Scott's desire to prevent similar situations from happening with other women in Hollywood.

The planned Mogulettes series the two were filming for had not yet been picked up by any TV networks. Because of what happened on the set, it's very unlikely the project will be moving forward. Pardue's status on Runaways remains to be addressed by Hulu, and the complete second season is set to premiere on the service on Dec. 21. Recently, it was reported HBO will be employing intimacy coordinators to monitor every sex scene filmed for the original shows on the network, and Scott's story just goes to show how this is a step in the right direction. This story comes to us from The Los Angeles Times.