Ex-Assistant Accuses Director Bryan Singer of Traumatizing him When he was 18

In a lengthy, , first-person account in Variety entitled "My Traumatizing Years With Bryan Singer," 30 year old Blake Stuerman recalls his experiences with the director with a history of sexual abuse allegations.

"Stuerman met Singer in 2009 in New York City when he was 18 years old, and entered into a sexual relationship with him shortly after; Singer was 43," writes Variety.

Their relationship ended when Stuerman was fired as Singer's assistant on"X-Men: Days of Future Past" in 2012.

"Stuerman believes his relationship with Singer was abusive and traumatic. He says he was further traumatized by witnessing an incident in 2012 in which Singer allegedly assaulted someone," the publications adds.

Variety goes on to write that they corroborated parts Stuerman's lengthy account "through documents, photographs, emails and text messages provided by Stuerman, and by speaking with people in Stuerman's and Singer's orbits at the time of these events. In total,�Variety�interviewed 20 people for this story, 18 of whom spoke with�Variety�under an agreement of anonymity in order to protect their positions within the industry or out of concern of reprisals from Singer – as well as Stuerman's parents. Stuerman's allegation of assault was corroborated by someone who was present for it."

Stuerman was 18 years old and working as an assistant scenic designer in New York City.

"I was stick thin, wildly precocious and looked no older than 15. The textbook definition of a twink," he writes by way of introduction.

He met Singer through a mutual acquittance. He had no idea who he was, but knew of the films he had directed ("X-Men" and "Superman Returns.") On their first meeting, which included Stuerman and others going back to Singer's hotel suite, the director asked to see Stuerman's ID because he couldn't believe he was 18. "I was accustomed to people asking how old I was because I did look so young," he wrote.

Singer brought Stuerman into his circle and it intoxicated the then 18 year old, who was living a hand-to-mouth existence at the time while renting a room in an Upper East Side apartment and taking the subway everywhere. Within weeks, he was spending days with Singer.

"I suddenly found myself riding around all over the city in a motorcade. On one rainy afternoon, we popped into an art gallery where Bryan casually dropped more than $10k on a John Waters self-portrait because he found it amusing," he writes.

Stuerman also writes that Singer introduced him to alcohol while at a party in the director's hotel room. When the other guests left, he was left alone with Singer.

"I was newly 18, alone in a hotel suite with a rich and famous man who was giving me his full attention,�and�I was intoxicated for the first time in my life. My chest grows tight now just thinking about it. You can imagine what happened next. I didn't know I was allowed to say no. I didn't know that alcohol was affecting my decision-making ability," he writes

Singer then told Stuerman he needed to make the move to Los Angeles, which the younger man did at his own expense. Once he did, he learned of Singer's "reputation for liking very young-looking men." He explains how younger men were brought into Singer's house and "he'd pick the one, two, or more who he liked and we'd see them an hour or three later. I was often one of them." The young men, Variety notes, had been vetted as to their age beforehand.

Stuerman also felt lucky to have such a rich and powerful mentor as he pursued a career in Los Angeles.

"He invited me to sets, post-production sessions, script readings, development meetings, film festivals, parties and dinners. He would pay for meals and was extremely generous – he even took me to dinner with Sir Elton John. He also began to expect sex more frequently," he writes.

He would attend movie screenings at Singer's house called "Bryan Singer's Film School."

"It was then expected that we'd have sex or, at the very least, I would masturbate with him," Stuerman writes. "As we got closer, he expected even more. If he didn't find a boy out at the bars that night, I would have to be the boy. If I put up even a little bit of resistance, he'd get angry.�Why would I throw my future away? If I wanted to leave I was welcome to, but I wouldn't be allowed back.�He would text me about sex:�'Boy cum yeahhhhhhhhh!'

Stuerman describes a night when Singer allegedly violently attacked another man at his house. After the incident, Stuerman got Singer alone.

"I'll fucking kill you if you leave me," the filmmaker allegedly said.

"Those were his exact words. I had never witnessed or experienced physical violence before meeting Bryan," Stuerman writes."I realized I was trapped alone in a room with a violently drunk man. The terror quickly sank in. What had happened? I did my best to calm him down. I chose my words as carefully as I could. Would something I say set him off? I didn't want to find out."

After that incident, he lived in fear of Singer but stayed on.

"If Bryan found out I had hooked up with someone without his permission – without inviting him to participate – he berated me, and dangled my future in front of me. I wasn't allowed to date. I wasn't allowed to have sex with people of my choosing. He controlled me."

Singer hired Stuerman as an assistant.

"I was now formally on the payroll. I had a credit card. We had essentially lived together for months at this point – spending every moment together," Stuerman writes. "I didn't have a life outside of Bryan. The very few friends I did have stopped speaking to me because I didn't have the time to see them."

The emotional abuse, though, continued, leading to Stuerman having panic attacks.

"One panic attack was so severe that I collapsed from hyperventilation and was taken by ambulance to the emergency room," he wrote, adding that he also felt obligated to go out with Singer every night and drink. "When I asked him if it was OK if I stayed sober he said, 'That's not fun�for me.'"

As time went on, their relationship deteriorated.

"Sex between us had become much less frequent which, in hindsight, was likely adding to his behavior toward me," he writes.

Stuerman also notes that Singer's personal problems led to him being late on the set of "Days of Future Past" in 2013. Similar issues led to his dismissal from "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 2017.

Things came to a head when Stuerman overslept one day and missed a brunch Singer had planned.

"I was awoken by security coming into my apartment. When they confirmed I was alive, I was told I needed to pack my things. I was being sent back to Los Angeles. I had less than two hours to get out," Stuerman writes.

Back in L.A., Stuerman realized "I didn't even know who I was. I didn't have any friends who weren't also his friends, too. I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't even know who I could talk to. I'd been warned that if I left, I was out.�I so badly wanted to finish the movie or, at least, make it to the end of filming, but by that point I knew nothing would change."

Singer's lawyers wrote up a separation agreement, which included a final, low five-figure payment. Stuerman's credit on "Days of Future Past" was cut, and he was told it was an "oversight."

Right before to the release of "Days of Future Past" in 2014, Singer faced charges of sexual assault and rape.

"Since I had been in his orbit for so long, my life was analyzed, hacked, and sold to tabloids. I had been warned not to say anything. Unable to defend myself publicly and embarrassed I had been fired, I completely retreated and fell into a severe depression," he wrote.

Stuerman moved home with his parents who "watched me struggle to get out of bed each day for almost two years. They watched as I repeatedly dealt with alcohol abuse and dependence on anti-anxiety medications. As a condition of living with them, I began seeing a therapist weekly. Even after years of therapy, I still instinctively believe anything that goes wrong is my fault, and mine to fix. I say sorry so much that I'm often asked for what it is I'm apologizing. I thought about all those who came before me – what condition were they in? It turns out addiction, severe depression, PTSD and anxiety are all�very�common among those of us who�experienced�Bryan's wrath."

In 2019 the Atlantic published further accusations about Singer. "Reading the piece, I saw myself in the life-altering struggles the victims experienced as a result of their alleged assaults," writes Stuerman.

He concludes with: "I'm choosing to get back into the industry on my terms. I will not defend abusers. I will not allow myself to be abused."

But wonders: "(I)s a career in Hollywood even possible under these terms?"

Variety presented Singer's lawyer Andrew Brettler a detailed summary of Stuerman's piece, which he responded with a four-page letter. In it he claims the younger man's allegations are "uncorroborated, inflammatory, and highly defamatory" and that Stuerman "simply has an axe to grind" against Singer. But Brettler did not deny that Singer and Stuerman had a sexual relationship or deny the accusation that Singer assaulted someone in front of his assistant.

"The types of allegations that Mr. Steurman [sic] now is leveling against Mr. Singer are nothing more than self-serving and conclusory statements with absolutely no evidentiary support," Brettler writes. He adds: "Mr. Stuerman is angry and upset that he allegedly did not receive the 'credit' that he thought he deserved on Mr. Singer's films....And, most of all, he is angry and upset that Mr. Singer is no longer funding Mr. Stuerman's jet setting lifestyle and supporting Mr. Stuerman financially, as he had done for so many years."

Variety writes: "Singer has been the subject of controversy for much of his career, starting with allegations of misconduct involving minors on the set of the 1998 film 'Apt Pupil,' and exploding after being accused of raping a minor in a civil lawsuit in 2014 (that was later withdrawn). In 2019, Singer�settled a lawsuit for $150,000�that claimed he'd raped a 17-year-old boy in 2003 (he denied the allegations). Singer has never been arrested or charged with a crime related to these allegations, and he has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct. His professional habits have also come under scrutiny, and in late 2017, he was fired from 'Bohemian Rhapsody' after causing what the Hollywood Reporter called�"chaos on set."�He hasn't directed a movie since."