Actor Cole Sprouse has denied allegations circulating on Twitter that he sexually assaulted a woman at a party in 2013, after similar accusations were also lodged against three of his Riverdale costars Sunday.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Sprouse, who earlier starred in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody with his twin brother, said all of the allegations were false — and damaging to victims of sexual assault.
"False accusations do tremendous damage to victims of actual assault. Furthermore, I would never seek to silence anybody. I encourage that people look into the accusations themselves, as the events detailed were factually untrue," he said.
He added the anonymous accusations appeared to be an attempt to "cancel" him and other stars of the popular show.
"This seems to be the latest claim in a series of incidents seeking to baselessly cancel my cast mates and me," he said.
Earlier in the day, a newly created Twitter account with the handle @Victori66680029 accused Sprouse of "fondling" her breasts at a party in a series of tweets.
I want to tell about my sexual abuse by cole sprouse. It was at a party in 2013 when cole was at nyu. I was invited to one of his parties by a mutual friend, he came up during the party and started flirting with me and obviously I was flattered, we talked for quite a while,
Fans of the Riverdale actor quickly came to his defense, calling the allegations fake and pointing out similarities between other accounts accusing his costars Vanessa Morgan, Lili Reinhart, and KJ Apa of sexual assault and harassment.
Morgan retweeted Sprouse's comments, and in her own Twitter thread, Reinhart said the actors were now considering legal action.
"I have always taken sexual assault allegations seriously," Reinhart said. "But it was proven that this account was created specifically to create false stories about me and my cast. I can’t think of something more twisted than lying about sexual assault."
She added that she hoped the incident didn't discourage real survivors from speaking out about their experiences.
"We are looking into taking legal action. This kind of sick behavior only harms true survivors," she said. "This was incredibly triggering for me and scary because I’ve always supported survivors and believed them."
Some also expressed skepticism about the accusations given that they were all made around the same time against four cast members of a single show.
Doesn't it seem strange that, in the same ace of time, the same type of profile created at the moment and only members of the cast of Riverdale, have been insulted for sexual harassment? Obviously if it really happened I fully support the victims. #colesprouse #vanessamorgan
People also pointed out that the Twitter accounts behind the allegations have handles that follow the same format: a woman's name followed by a bunch of numbers.
Later on, the account that made allegations against Reinhart posted a tweet saying, "Do you see how easy it is to lie and you guys will believe it? Vanessa Morgan and Kj Apa didn't do jack shit. You will believe anything," according to screenshots of the tweet.
She was raped and abused by Vanessa Morgan, Lili Reinhart and KJ Apa, all of them part of the Riverdale Cast, minutes later, she said that it was a joke and she was just messing to prove Cole’s innocence. The IP address of the tweets (+)
Fans also criticized the tweets, saying that making jokes and false accusations about sexual assault hurts victims of sexual assault and makes it harder for them to speak up.
so the whole thing abt cole sprouse, kj apa and vanessa morgan turned out to be FAKE. WTF being sexually assaulted is such a SENSITIVE TOPIC and cant be lied abt and joked around. there are people who actually SUFFERS from it and cant SPEAK UP ABT THEIR STORY. WTFF DUDE GROW UP.
The tweets were posted two days after a woman named Gabby claimed in a viral Twitter post that actor Ansel Elgort had sexually assaulted her in 2014 when she was 17. Elgort said they had a consensual relationship and denied the allegations.