Regina Simons Recalls Steven Seagal's Alleged Rape in 1993

Woman, one of several accusers, talked about the alleged incident with the actor in an interview on NBC's Megyn Kelly Today

By Corinne Heller Jan 26, 2018 8:46 PMTags
Regina Simons, Megyn Kelly, Steven SeagalNBC

Regina Simons opened up about Steven Seagal's alleged rape in an interview on NBC's Megan Kelly Today on Friday, said she hoped for "acknowledgement" from him.

She had told TheWrap earlier this month that the actor raped her in 1993 at a Beverly Hills home when she was 18. Seagal has not commented on her allegations. She said that she had been invited to a wrap party for his movie On Deadly Ground, in which she served as an extra, but that when she arrived at the house, she was the only guest.

"Immediately, I asked him where everyone else was for this wrap party and he said that everyone had left and he said he wanted to show me something and took me into what seemed to be a bedroom, then closed the door and tried to kiss me and took my clothes off," Simons told Megyn Kelly. "And before I knew it, he was on top of me and I couldn't move. I just completely froze and even felt like I left my body...I know I was crying. i know there were tears coming down my face. There was no anything from him to even see if I was OK."

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The actor was married to now-ex-wife and actress Kelly LeBrock at the time of the alleged incident.

"I remember just my gaze went to a table or a nightstand and I saw a picture of—at the time I didn't know who she was, but could only make the connection that it was the lady from Weird Science and now knowing that was Kelly LeBrock," Simons told Kelly. "That was what I remember, just sort of staring at that picture and wanting him to stop and wanting to be out of there."

Simons is one of more than a dozen women who have accused the actor of sexual misconduct and the first to publicly accuse him of rape. The claims come amid the growing #MeToo movement and Time's Up initiative to combat sexual harassment and amid months of increased accusations made against powerful men in and outside of Hollywood, namely Harvey Weinstein.

"I know what consent is and that was definitely not consensual," she said. "There was no asking me if this was OK. It just was very predatory, very aggressive and traumatizing."

When asked what she wanted to see happen to Seagal, Simons paused and said, tearfully, "Acknowledgement. For me, I know this type of behavior and abuse continues in silence which is why I came forward, is to call out my abuser and let him know this is not OK and hopefully there can be some change in there but at least to let abusers know that no, this is not OK, this type of behavior is not OK." 

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Simons and Dutch former model Faviola Dadis, who claimed Seagal groped her during a 2002 audition, told TheWrap they both filed reports about the actor with the LAPD in the last month. Seagal has not commented on either of their claims.

The police confirmed to Megyn Kelly Today that Simons' report was made. An LAPD spokesperson told TheWrap and CBS News that police are investigating a separate 2005 case involving Seagal.

A few celebrities have accused Seagal of sexual misconduct. 

In November, Portia De Rossi said on Twitter that during a past audition for one of his films, he allegedly unzipped his pants in front of her, telling her how important it was to have chemistry off-screen.

Also that month, Juliana Margulies said that when she was 23, a female casting director told her Seagal wanted to go over a scene with her in his hotel room at 10 p.m.

"And I got to the hotel around 10:40 p.m. and she wasn't there and he was alone and he made sure that I saw his gun, which I had never seen a gun in real life," she said. "And I got out of there unscathed...I never was raped, and I never was harmed. I don't know how I got out of that hotel room. It always starts with 'I'm a healer. I want to massage you' and I sort of squirmed my way out."

"When I got to LA, I made sure people were around me all the time. I never was alone with him," she said. "Because of my experience with Steven Seagal in that room, which was horrific, I refused to meet Harvey Weinstein in his hotel room when another woman brought me."

Seagal has not commented on the actresses' allegations.

Jenny McCarthy said Seagal had asked her to strip during a 1995 audition for Under Siege 2 and then threatened her not to tell anyone. Seagal's rep told The Daily Beast, "Her claim is completely false," and also said, "Warner Brothers casting for the film Under Siege 2 has confirmed that Jenny McCarthy never auditioned for a role on Under Siege 2." The studio has not commented.

Earlier this month, actress Rachel Grant, who played Bond Girl Peaceful in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day, told BBC News she was flown to Sofia, Bulgaria to rehearse lines with Seagal after auditioning for a role in Out For A Kill. She said they met in a hotel room, where he allegedly tugged her strapless top down after she refused to take it off, pushed her onto a bed by force and started to unzip his pants. She said he stopped and apologized after she began crying, telling her that he liked to date actresses he worked with to improve their "on-screen chemistry."

Seagal's lawyers told BBC News he unequivocally denies Grant's allegations in their entirety, saying, "Our client denies having such contact with Ms Grant and further vehemently denies any alleged assault at all, in particular, the alleged assault occurring in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2002."

Grant said she was emboldened by women sharing their stories of sexual harassment as part of the #MeToo campaign, BBC News said.