A series of concerning allegations involving No Time to Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga have made the news as growing concerns over the filmmaker’s behavior on different sets became the subject of a lengthy report covering the stories of at least four young women and their relationship with Fukunaga.
Fukunaga rose to prominence in both film and television thanks to his first feature film Sin Nombre and directing True Detective's first season, before obtaining his biggest project when he took over James Bond's 25th movie. However, according to some sources, his alarming behavior extends all the way to the set of his latest project, Apple TV Plus' Masters of the Air. Allegations against Fukunaga first started to pop up in media shortly after No Time to Die's premiere last October, when actor Raeden Greer accused the director of firing her from True Detective after pressuring her to film a topless scene not stipulated in the terms of her contract.
At the time, Greer felt alone, believing to be the only one to have a negative experience with Fukunaga. However, Rolling Stone's extensive reports feature more than a few accounts with worrying details that suggest a prolonged pattern of abusive behavior. The biggest accuser is actor and skateboarder Rachelle Vinberg, who last month took to Instagram (@rachellevinberg) to describe the nature of her relationship with Fukunaga, whom she met on the set of a Samsung commercial. One of Vinberg's stories refers to a skateboard tattoo on her wrist she says Fukunaga gave her, saying “it’s something he likes to do to girls. It’s like his way of marking women. It’s bizarre.”
Vinberg's allegations were then shortly followed up by twin sisters Cailin and Hannah Loesch, who became acquainted with Fukunaga in 2017 while filming Netflix's Maniac. Both women alleged the director flirted with them by proposing a threesome and that he “suggested incest is fine ‘if all parties are okay with it,'" something Fukunaga's attorneys have denied. The report totals at least four women all describing remarkably similar conduct patterns from Fukunaga, with one of the accusers claiming “He’s done the exact same thing to all of us.”
Model Lizzie Swanson, who met Fukunaga at some point, claims she was never abused or threatened by the director but noted that the emotional and "mental patterns and manipulative tactics […] are very much the same." This is similar to former writing partner Nick Cuse's comments, who was quoted saying, “He didn’t groom me to fuck me, but he did use a lot of the same tactics to get me to write his scripts for him,” as did similar sources who dated the man briefly. Fukunaga's representatives have not replied directly to all of these allegations. Instead, the director’s lawyers have mostly deflected most accusations. "No one ever – not once – voiced such sentiments to [Fukunaga]... He creates a work environment that is creative, collaborative and welcoming to all," said attorney Michael Plonkster.
The sheer number of accounts compiled by Rolling Stone's report is incredibly worrying, yet at the time it remains to be seen if any of the alleged victims will press charges of any kind, with Greer saying she just hopes the story will spark some change in Hollywood's persistent sexual misconduct patterns and not just around Fukunaga. Judging from what was reported from the set of Masters of the Air, currently under production, it seems Fukunaga's behavior never really changed.
No Time to Die is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Rolling Stone