“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor and former NFL player Terry Crews has been one of the most vocal men in the Me Too movement since last October, when he publicly called out a powerful Hollywood executive he said had sexually assaulted him.
On Friday, Crews tweeted out an apology letter he said he received from the executive, Adam Venit, who resigned from his job at the William Morris Endeavor agency last week. Venit’s resignation was a condition of settling a lawsuit Crews had filed against the agent, according to Vanity Fair.
The terms of the settlement call for the talent agency to pay $375,000 to cover Crews’ legal fees, and for Venit’s resignation with no possibility of being rehired by WME, the magazine reported. The deal also requires the agency to change its employee conduct policy.
“Accepted WITH HIS RESIGNATION,” Crews said in his tweet, apparently indicating that he was finally accepting the apology because Venit had resigned.
Venit wrote in the letter, which was sent in March: “I am coming to terms with myself as to why I behaved the way I have: fear, stress, and insecurity. These are all things that I am working on.”
Crews told Deadline that he had waited until now to reveal the apology because “it meant nothing without a resignation.”
In the letter, Venit asked for forgiveness and appeared to be planning to stay in his job.
“I am writing this note with the hope of us talking in person to come together and become a positive story in a very messed up world,” Venit wrote. “Using this platform to show people love, honesty, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness are all possible. I want to use this moment to become a positive influence with you and not just another Hollywood story that becomes the forever narrative of who we both are.”
The letter was sent four months after Crews filed suit against Venit and WME and two weeks after the Los Angeles district attorney decided not to bring criminal charges because of the statute of limitations.
Crews testified about sexual assault survivor rights before a Senate committee in June. He also faced attacks from some people, like rapper 50 Cent, who questioned his manhood.