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Jeremy Renner is denying director Yi Zhou’s claims that they reached a resolution after she made multiple allegations against him.
Earlier this month, Zhou, 37, who collaborated on a documentary earlier this year with Renner, 54, accused the actor of sending her a string of “unsolicited pornographic images of himself” in June. She alleged that when she confronted Renner about this, he threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on her.
Renner later denied those allegations, with his lawyer, Martin Singer, calling them “totally inaccurate and untrue.” Singer alleged that after Renner had a “consensual encounter” with Zhou, she sent the actor “sexually explicit” messages. The lawyer also accused Zhou of lashing out after Renner “rejected her romantic advances.”
On Saturday, Zhou wrote on Instagram that she and Renner have now “reached a peaceful and mutually respectful resolution without any settlement money from both sides.” She also claimed they would be moving forward with their joint projects together, including the documentary Chronicles of Disney and the AI-animated film Stardust Future.
However, Singer later denied Zhou’s claims, telling TMZ that Renner and the director did not reach a resolution.
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Jeremy Renner’s lawyer says ‘no deal’ was reached between the actor and director Yi Zhou (Getty Images)
“There was no deal reached with Yi Zhou to resolve my client Jeremy Renner’s substantial multi-million dollar claims against her,” he said.
“I have no knowledge why Yi Zhou would fabricate a story that a deal has been made with her since she was notified that there was no deal with her, including her use of Jeremy Renner in an animated movie when he only agreed to be in a documentary,” Singer added.
Earlier this month, Zhou alleged that the Mayor of Kingstown actor first introduced himself to her “out of the blue” in June by sending her a string of “unwanted” images via WhatsApp and direct messages.
“After having calls and text discussions he allured me and sold me he [was] looking for a relation and of course seduced / flatted [sic] that he was a Hollywood star fantasizing and loving me so much I believed in him,” she claimed.
Zhou, who said in October that she and Renner were in a relationship, continued: “The power of love and embarked on the most difficult months + 2 Oscar running projects I kindly invited him to be part.”
She added in one of her Instagram posts that Renner “has refused to make any public promotion” for their projects, “despite our repeated pleas public and private for support.”
Zhou continued, alleging: “When I called him out privately about his past misconduct and asked him to behave properly, to respect me as a woman and as a filmmaker, he threatened to call immigration/ICE on me, an act that deeply shocked and frightened me.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail in a later interview, Zhou claimed that during one of their meetings at his home about Chronicles of Disney, Renner got drunk and “yelled for two hours,” leaving her “scared for [her] life.”
She said at the time she shared her location with her team and parents in case anything happened to her. In screenshots of alleged text messages sent to her Disney colleagues and obtained by the Mail, Zhou called Renner “violent.”
Singer later responded to these claims, saying Renner and Zhou met on one occasion in Reno, Nevada, when he was interviewed for her Chronicles of Disney documentary. He claimed they shared a “brief consensual encounter.”
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Jeremy Renner previously denied Yi Zhou’s claims he sent her unsolicited sexual messages (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)
According to the lawyer, Renner ignored the filmmaker’s subsequent “sexually explicit messages expressing her love.” He claimed that Zhou “had been relentlessly harassing and threatening [his] client with hundreds of unsolicited and unwanted messages.”
Renner, who survived a near-fatal snowplow accident in January 2023, has previously been accused of abusive behavior by his ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco, to whom he was married from 2014 to 2015.
Following their divorce, Pacheco sought sole custody of their daughter, Ava, accusing Renner of being an “unfit parent.” She accused him of using drugs and having them within reach of their daughter, and threatening to kill Pacheco and himself.
Renner vehemently denied the accusations in a July interview with The Guardian, calling them “clickbait.” Renner and Pacheco share joint custody of their now-12-year-old daughter.