Actor Ansel Elgort has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in 2014.
A Twitter user named Gabby posted her lengthy story with the caption "my story of Ansel Elgort", alleging she was "sexually assaulted a couple days after I turned 17" and he left her "sobbing and in pain".
She said she initially sent Elgort a message two days before her 17th birthday when she was "just a kid and was a fan" and didn't expect a response, but she ended up receiving his private Snapchat account and they began talking. The pair met up a couple of days after her birthday, and Gabby detailed what she believed happened.
"Instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn't want to do it, the only words that came out of his mouth were 'we need to break you in'," she wrote.
"I wasn't there in that moment mentally. I disassociated myself and just felt like my mind was gone. I was in shock.
"He made me think this is how sex was supposed to be. I was so young and he knew that. He as well said stuff like 'you're going to be such a beautiful young lady when you're older'. I was f***ing 17."
In addition to the alleged assault, she said Elgort also asked her for nude photos and to have a threesome with her and one of her friends, who was also underage.
Elgort, best known for his roles in The Fault in Our Stars and Baby Driver, responded to the allegations in an Instagram post on Sunday and said he was "distressed" to see what was circulating about him.
"I cannot claim to understand Gabby's feelings but her description of events is simply not what happened. I have never and would never assault anyone.
"What is true is that in New York in 2014, when I was 20, Gabby and I had a brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship."
He added he didn't "handle the breakup well" and stopped responding to her, which he called "immature and cruel".
"As I look back at my attitude, I am disgusted and deeply ashamed of the way I acted. I am truly sorry. I know I must continue to reflect, learn, and work to grow in empathy."
Commenters on his post weren't happy with what some labelled a "half-assed apology".
"So you're ignoring the actual rape allegations," one wrote.
"This is such a copy-and-paste, half-assed apology," another said.
"Gabby also stated that she never actually consented, she never verbally expressed how she wanted to have sex and was manipulated and in her words, 'wasn't there in the moment mentally'. Bringing up her age doesn't absolve you of all guilt and this apology reads as one big gaslighting session," another commenter said.
