Percy Hynes White has shared a social-media statement that appears to deny sexual-assault allegations against him from January. “Earlier this year, somebody I’ve never met started a campaign of misinformation about me online,†the Wednesday star wrote in an Instagram Story now highlighted on his profile. “Because of this, my family has been doxxed, and my friends have received death threats. Underage photos of me were used, and examples of me acting in character were presented as hateful.†Per Variety, a Twitter user alleged on January 18 that Hynes White once sexually assaulted her at a party while she was drunk. The user, whose account no longer exists, also claimed that he assaulted multiple other women and threw parties where he provided underage girls with alcohol and drugs to have sex with them. Similar allegations against him later went viral on Twitter.
While Hynes White’s Instagram statement does not specifically say that the “misinformation†is about allegations of sexual assault, it notes that his “friend Jane was falsely portrayed as a victim, and her attempts to set the record straight have been ignored.†He said that she gave him permission to mention her in statement, which also seems to respond to broader allegations of misogyny and racism. “The rumors are false,†Hynes White wrote. “I can’t accept the portrayal of me as someone bigoted, or criminally negligent of people’s safety. These are the kind of baseless, harmful claims that can create mistrust toward victims.†The actor starred in Wednesday as Xavier Thorpe, who had a crush on the show’s titular goth girl in the first season. It does seems like his role could potentially evolve, given that executive producer and star Jenna Ortega said in a recent “Actors on Actors†chat for Variety that Netflix’s next semester at Nevermore Academy will be leaning more into the horror and “ditching any romantic-love interest.â€