Update (February 13, 2019): Several women who have accused Extra host A.J. Calloway of sexual assault broke their silence this week.
Six women spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the embattled media personality.
All six stories have common features, including Calloway introducing himself before offering favors to the women to get them alone. Once he has them isolated, he allegedly confiscates their phones and assaults them.
One of the women, Jeannie Delgado, previously spoke to The Daily Beast as an anonymous source but decided to go public after talking to THR.
A woman speaking out for the first time, only identified as Daisy, said she isn’t surprised others shared her story.
"I definitely felt I couldn't be the only one," she said.
Sil Lai Abrams, the first woman to come forward back in June, believes Calloway's public persona shielded him.
"So many people have commented online that A.J. doesn't seem like the type who would attack anyone because his public persona on Extra is that he is a 'safe' family man," Abrams said.
Calloway wasn’t suspended until last week even though three of the women have open legal cases against him. Warner Bros. Television, the company in charge of Extra, investigated after Abrams came forward but found "nothing to suggest that Mr. Calloway has ever engaged in workplace misconduct,” according to a statement.
That investigation has now been reopened "in light of additional allegations brought to our attention, we are expanding our ongoing inquiries."
Calloway has denied any wrongdoing.
“Mr. Calloway can state unequivocally that these allegations are implausible and did not happen,” said his lawyer. “Mr. Calloway will not sit idly by as these false and baseless allegations cause further harm to his family, career and reputation and looks forward to clearing his name.”
Original: In June 2018, writer Sil Lai Abrams accused American television personality and Extra TV host AJ Calloway of sexual assault. As Blavity previously reported, the domestic violence activist revealed the details of the abuse exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter.
Six months later, two more women have come forward to The Daily Beast with their own recounts of Calloway's malpractice. Speaking with the news and pop culture site, Abrams revealed that at least 10 women, including herself, have accused Calloway of sexual misconduct.
One accuser, who requested anonymity in her testimony, filed a suit against Calloway on December 24 at the West Orange Police Department in New Jersey. To maintain the confidentiality of the victim, representatives of the West Orange Police Department declined to offer anymore specifics of the dispute.
The second accuser, who The Daily Beast dubbed "Talia" on the basis of obscurity, believes Calloway would attempt to destroy her career if she revealed her identity.
"I don't want it to affect my future, everything that I've worked hard for—and AJ is someone that would try to do that."
Talia said she and Calloway went to dinner, and following their meal Calloway drove the two back to his home for an after-party with a group of friends. Once the other guests left for the night, Talia recalls Calloway forcing himself on her. When she refused, he exposed himself to her. Following the incident, Talia said Calloway promised to drop Talia back at her place in the morning.
Despite the allegations against Calloway, Abrams added that Warner Brothers Television, which produces Extra TV, have neglected to speak on their employee's behalf.
"I emailed Blake Bryant, the head of publicity at Warner Brothers Television—the same guy who Kim Masters reached out to when she was working on her piece for The Hollywood Reporter—asking him why they haven’t issued any statements," Abrams explained. "I let him know that I'd spoken with multiple women and there are multiple alleged victims of AJ. I was thinking, Warner Brothers has got to say something, I mean, what are they going to do? I got no response."
When Abrams' expose with The Holiday Reporter was published, Calloway released a statement through his legal team vehemently denying any wrongdoing on his part.
"THR chose to publish these meritless allegations without a thorough investigation of the facts. I intend to vigorously defend my reputation against these false accusations and will not let this cause further harm to my family," his statement read.
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