
Here's a detailed look at the latest #MeToo claims.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Jun 22, 2020
Photo: DFree / Shutterstock

Riverdale is many things — controversial, compelling, a hit amongst teenagers. But in the latest accusation to come out of the #MeToo movement, one of the stars is also being accused of sexual assault. But is there truth to the allegations?
The target of the sexual assault claim is Cole Sprouse, a former Disney star who currently plays Jughead Jones on the hit CW show.
But it didn't take long for Sprouse — and other cast members — to come out and denounce the claims.
What do we know about the Cole Sprouse sexual assault claims?
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The accusations came from a "burner" (suspected fake) account.
A user with the handle "@Victori66680029," who joined Twitter earlier this month, gave a harrowing account about her alleged assault by Cole Sprouse. The tweets, which you can see below, accuse Sprouse of assaulting her at a party back in 2013. These are the only tweets that were sent from the account. Check them out below.
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,
— Victoria (@Victori66680029) June 21, 2020
Pushed me on the bed and put his hands under my shirt and started fondling my breasts I told him multiple times to stop, he wouldn't listen. By then I'm in tears and gagging from the alcohol smell on his breath. With me still saying no he proceeds to undo my pants. After he was
— Victoria (@Victori66680029) June 21, 2020
Done he told me to leave. I left and went home sobbing and took a shower for a while. I never told anyone because who would believe me over a rich Disney star. #colesprouse #tellingmystory exposing
— Victoria (@Victori66680029) June 21, 2020
It didn't take long for fans of the show to leap to Sprouse's defense.
Almost immediately, fans of the Riverdale star took to Twitter to defend Sprouse against the claims. One told "Victoria" that her "false accusations" only helped to discredit those with legitimate sexual assault allegations. Another pointed out that this isn't the first time that someone had accused Riverdale stars of sexual assault — and the culprit had all come from the same IP address. Prior to "Vanessa" accusing Sprouse of sexual assault, similar claims were made from "Victoria's" IP address against Riverdale stars KJ Apa and Vanessa Morgan. And still another accused "Victoria" of trying to "cancel men for clout." Yikes.
The accusations were made two days after the allegations made against Ansel Elgort.
Just two days prior to the claims made against Sprouse, an account with a similar handle made allegations against actor Ansel Elgort. Elgort subsequently denied the accusations. Justin Bieber was also accused of sexual assault on Twitter this weekend.
Sprouse immediately issued a denial, and threatened legal action against the false accusations.
Unlike Justin Bieber — who took two days to respond to the allegations made against him — Sprouse immediately issued a denial of the accusations, and promised to take legal action against the accusers for making what he called "false accusations."
Earlier today myself and three other cast mates were falsely accused of sexual offense by anonymous accounts on twitter. I take these accusations very seriously, and will be working with the right teams to get to the root of it. (1)
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) June 22, 2020
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. 2
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) June 22, 2020
This seems to be the latest claim in a series of incidents seeking to baselessly cancel my cast mates and me.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) June 22, 2020
Lili Reinhart also defended Sprouse.
Almost immediately, Reinhart — Sprouse's sometime girlfriend and fellow Riverdale co-star — quote-tweeted Sprouse's denial of the accusations and made clear that false sexual assault claims were more damaging to the #MeToo movement than legitimate ones. Check out her response below.
I have always taken sexual assault allegations seriously. 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. It invalidates the men and women who are- https://t.co/qcZMXYPNLQ
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 22, 2020
Brave enough to come forward with the truth. This kind of lie can ruin lives and careers- and I can call it a lie because the person who made the allegations already admitted that the stories were fabricated.
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 22, 2020
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We are looking into taking legal action. This kind of sick behavior only harms true survivors. This was incredibly triggering for me and scary because I’ve always supported survivors and believed them.
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 22, 2020
I hope and pray that this does not discourage real survivors from speaking out about their experiences.
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) June 22, 2020
This is a developing story, and we'll keep you posted with any updates.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.