A production assistant who worked on the HBO Max series, Search Party, has accused showrunner Charles Rogers of sexual assault.
Evan Schwartz has claimed that Rogers sexually assaulted him, and has suggested that the showrunner also drugged him. The alleged incident reportedly happened in 2020, according to Schwartz.
According to TheWrap, the network carried out a past investigation into the alleged assault, which cleared Rogers. However, in social media statements shared by Schwartz on January 6, he said: “HBO’s HR investigator gaslit me into exonerating Charles. Because of the psychotic episode, I believed I made this all up, and I even sent him an email telling him he did nothing wrong.”
In a statement to TheWrap, an individual close to Rogers said: “The facts speak for themselves as evidenced by this individual’s decision to retract his own statement amid a thorough, third-party investigation which found no wrongdoing. Charles unequivocally denies this claim regarding a mutually consensual relationship.”
This is a selfie Charles Rogers took on my phone the morning after sexually assaulting me in 2020. I was his driver on the shoot for Search Party. After he took this selfie he joked, “I have a lawyer in case someone me too’s me”. I don’t remember falling asleep that night. pic.twitter.com/jBG52PMIP5
— evan (@izzio123) January 6, 2024
Schwartz posted a photograph on X/Twitter with the caption: “This is a selfie Charles Rogers took on my phone the morning after sexually assaulting me in 2020. I was his driver on the shoot for Search Party”, which ran from 2016 to 2022.
He continued: “After he took this selfie he joked, “I have a lawyer in case someone me too’s me”,” referring to the #MeToo movement which grew to prominence three years prior. Schwartz added: “I don’t remember falling asleep that night.”
Schwartz also suggested in his posts that Rogers drugged him, saying: “Charles was the writer/director of the show – I was his driver, he was my boss. He indeed handed me a drink right before we left the party, which I drank half of. He told the investigator, “I wouldn’t know how to drug somebody.”
According to his posts, Schwartz has also claimed that the alleged incident has caused him “psychological damage” that is “beyond words”. He continued: “I will post my detailed account of everything, including the psychotic episode, soon.”
“There are so many insane details to this story,” he added.
An official response has not yet been given by Rogers.
The post ‘Search Party’ showrunner Charles Rogers accused of sexual assault by production assistant appeared first on NME.
