Jeremy Renner denies Chinese filmmaker's sexual harassment allegations
What's the story
Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner (54) has strongly denied the recent harassment allegations made by Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou. The director claimed that Renner sent her "a string of unwanted/unsolicited pornographic images of himself" on social media in June, and threatened to call immigration authorities when she confronted him. Renner's representatives have called these allegations "totally inaccurate and untrue." Renner and Zhou worked together on Master of Cinema 2: Chronicles of Disney and Stardust Future: Stars and Scars.
Legal response
Zhou is 'retaliating' after Renner rejected her romantic advances: Attorney
Renner's attorney Marty Singer has claimed that Zhou (37) is retaliating against the actor after he "rejected her romantic advances" and didn't promote her projects on social media. In a statement to PEOPLE, Singer called Zhou's claims "false, outrageous, and highly defamatory." He also alleged that Zhou had been "relentlessly harassing and threatening my client with hundreds of unsolicited and unwanted messages."
Dispute escalates
Zhou alleged Renner threatened to call immigration authorities on her
Zhou alleged that Renner "forced himself on me the first day we met" and later threatened to call the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on her. In response, Renner's legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding Zhou stop "defamatory communications" and republishing "false, fabricated and salacious lies." The letter claimed it was Zhou who "aggressively pursued a sexual/romantic/sexting relationship" with Renner.
Counterclaims
Zhou claimed she was 'frauded by love'
In a statement to PEOPLE, Zhou said she had been "frauded by love" and claimed the actor sent her "obscene photos without consent...for days." Singer claims Renner met Zhou once in July 2025 when they met at a hotel. He says the two shared a "brief consensual encounter." They met again in August, after which Singer says Renner hasn't spoken to her in over a month.
Allegations
She also claimed to have 'a collection of those photos'
Zhou claimed to have "a collection of photos and the porn gifs that he sent." In October, Zhou claimed that Renner had "found new love" with her after his near-fatal snowplow accident in 2023. She has shared multiple Instagram posts accusing Renner of harassment and told TMZ that she sent him 3 cease-and-desist letters over the last month.
Response
Zhou has defended herself on social media
In one of her many explosive posts, Zhou wrote, "We have enough evidence I posted yesterday also of other females to show the pattern of pursuit." "The purpose of these conversations is to show that we need to have respect for women, even during intercourse." In another post, she wrote, "My team and I have all suffered." "For the people saying the screenshots of convos are AI: sorry, it would be ILLEGAL to produce AI screenshots...it would be falsifying documents."