Lawyer: Bryan Singer Confidant Used Social Media, Candy to Woo Boy
Jeff Herman, the attorney representing Michael Egan and a man known only as John Doe in sexual abuse lawsuits against Hollywood executives, revealed evidence today that he says details the predatory relationship between X-Men director Bryan Singer, producer Gary Goddard and a then-14-year-old John Doe.
According to Herman, Goddard—pictured above with Singer, Ian McKellen and a young companion—first contacted John Doe through social media when he was 14, and quickly established a relationship that involved nude camming. A few years later, Herman said the boy was assaulted by Singer at the London premiere of Superman Returns, a detail that was released yesterday. Herman then produced a number of pieces of physical evidence that he says further establishes the relationship between Goddard and John Doe.
Via Buzzfeed's Hunter Schwarz, Herman showed a shirtless photo (with the face blurred) that he said John Doe sent Goddard.
Attorney Jeff Herman holds up shirtless photo the "John Doe" allegedly sent to Gary Goddard detailed in lawsuit. pic.twitter.com/qWkBBsTAlb
— Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) May 5, 2014
He also had a photo of a letter he said Goddard sent along with chocolate to John Doe. The letter allegedly ends "Love, Gary."
Herman has photo of note he alleges Goddard sent to John Doe about sending chocolates to the boy. Letter ends, "Love, Gary."
— Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) May 5, 2014
This characterization of Goddard as a man who used the internet to find boys before passing them off to Singer is similar to the way he was described in emails we received about Singer's circle of friends and confidants in West Hollywood. This passage appeared in our deep dive into Singer's world:
"I never slept with Bryan before I was 18," he writes. "But after my 18th birthday, I was quickly passed off to him by a friend, Gary Goddard, who was having sex with me at 17. Gary was his good friend at the time, so Bryan would be out with us—with his dates of the moment, all young guys. I saw him at parties and out in LA, and we hooked up in Gary's house when I was 18, like three days after my birthday."
We did not include the following bit in that story, but given the anecdotes revealed by Herman today, it seems worth noting:
I was groomed to accept this as some common thing. They used aol to chat with guys (m4m barely legal). This group of men is out of control, with no limits, and no care for the emotional development of young, gay kids.