Years after the beginning of the #MeToo movement, more and more stories of predatory behavior in Hollywood have been coming into the spotlight. Various Actors, filmmakers, and studio heads have all been subject to accusations from people showcasing how the entertainment industry has been littered with harassment and misconduct that would have previously gone unreported. And now, we have another name to add to the list — Cary Fukunaga, the filmmaker behind the recent James Bond blockbuster, “No Time to Die.”
Rolling Stone released an article recently detailing accusations that display a pattern of crossing professional lines by Cary Fukunaga. Expanding upon allegations made by three women earlier this month, almost a dozen other sources provide new information on the filmmaker’s alleged sexual misconduct with female cast and crew members on his film sets over the past several years. Claims against Fukunaga include openly and persistently pursuing young women during production, grooming them, gaslighting, and other manipulative behavior.
The most recent allegations come from the set of AppleTV+‘s “Masters Of Air,” a World War II miniseries, on which Fukunaga directs three episodes and is a producer. According to sources, after wrapping a scene, Fukunaga hung back to take suggestive photos of two actresses dressed up like 1940s prostitutes, making those around them uncomfortable. One of the sources said Fukunaga claimed to need the pictures for continuity purposes, a task usually associated with the wardrobe department and not the director of such a large-scale production. “That was my first gut check,” the source recalls. “It was way past the line. There’s no sort of argument … that it is OK in any way. It’s an absolute, clear-cut abuse of power.”
The incident on the “Masters Of Air” set is part of a pattern that concerned almost a dozen sources Rolling Stone talked to from Fukunaga productions over the past six years. The piece follows up on accusations against the director made by three women in May: one who met Fukunaga on a Samsung commercial set in 2016, and two sisters who met on the set of 2017’s “Maniac.”
“Betty” actress Rachelle Vinberg first made claims against Fukunaga in a series of stories on Instagram in early May. “I spent years being scared of him,” Vinberg wrote, “Mans is a groomer and has been doing this shit for years. Beware women.” Throughout the stories, Vinberg detailed Fukunaga’s behavior and shared several screenshots of texts and DMs from the director.
Vinberg’s heartwrenching accusations were followed by more accusations from twins, Cailin and Hannah Loesch, who both worked with Fukunaga on the Netflix series, “Maniac.” In a long statement written by the Loesch sisters, the actresses detailed a “hot-and-cold relationship” where boundaries were crossed and relationship lines were blurred.
All told, the detailed report from Rolling Stone (which goes into far more gruesome detail) paints a picture of Fukunaga as yet another powerful person in Hollywood, who allegedly abused his power to get closer to young actresses and crewmembers. Obviously, it’s unclear whether or not this will result in any action against Fukunaga, either professionally or criminally. But, as of now, it would appear the filmmaker’s name joins an evergrowing list of powerful people in Hollywood who have allegedly abused their power in gross ways.