Jeremy Renner Denies Abuse and Harassment Allegations From Disney Documentary Filmmaker

Jeremy Renner‘s filmmaking partner Yi Zhou has come forward with serious accusations of misconduct against the MCU star, including that he threatened to “call ICE” on her after a confrontation over the alleged behavior. Zhou made a series of Instagram posts on Monday saying that Renner had sent a string of “unsolicited pornographic images of himself,” as well as a video of similar content, over WhatsApp and direct message as an introduction. After they began dating and working together, she recounted incidents of violent behavior from Renner that were concerning to the point she “feared for her life.” The two had previously teamed up for the unofficial House of Mouse documentary Chronicles of Disney, as well as the AI-animated feature Stardust Future, in which Renner provided the narration. Now, the Mayor of Kingstown star has responded to the allegations in a new report, with Renner’s rep saying, “The allegations being made are totally inaccurate and untrue.”

According to Zhou, her interactions with Renner stemmed back to June 2025, when he reached out to her over WhatsApp with the aforementioned photos. The two had no prior interactions and, upon digging into past media reports, she learned it wasn’t the first time Renner had allegedly reached out to someone in such a manner. Despite that initial interaction, after some calls and texts with Renner, the two began dating, and Zhou welcomed him aboard her respective projects. It was during a meeting at Renner’s home in Reno, Nevada, for Chronicles of Disney that the filmmaker alleges, in an interview with the Daily Mail, that his temper boiled over. “I was discussing about the doc logistics, then he drank a bottle of wine alone and got angry and angry yelling for two hours,” Zhou said. “I had to lock myself in a room to be safe, praying he would not come into the room at night, as he was really angry. I did not say a word, I was so scared for my life.“

Zhou also shared with the Mail alleged screenshots of the texts she sent to Disney colleagues asking for help on the night that Renner reportedly lashed out at her. In her Instagram post, she further says she was a victim of a “smear campaign” against herself and her respective projects after the Mayor of Kingstown star “refused to make any public promotion, despite our repeated pleas public and private for support” despite him allegedly entering an agreement with her Into the Sun Films banner for “use of his image, likeness, archival material, social-media content, and his foundation” on the projects he was involved in. “Instead, he has allowed without stepping up, for false information to spread through fan accounts falsely claiming that the documentary was generated by AI and denying any personal relation or professional collaboration.” Everything culminated in a private confrontation between the two, during which Zhou claims Renner threatened to report her to immigration authorities.

“When I called him out privately about his past misconduct and asked him to behave properly, to respect me as a woman and as a filmmaker, he threatened to call immigration/ICE on me, an act that deeply shocked and frightened me. Such behavior is unacceptable and emblematic of the imbalance of power that continues to harm women in our industry.”

Zhou’s Allegations Aren’t the First Surrounding Jeremy Renner

In her conversation with the Mail, Zhou also provided screenshots of an alleged text exchange she had with Renner where she called him out for using “apps to send dick pix.” Although she had said to him, “No one said anything so far” about his behavior, the actor allegedly responded, “Immigration will be notified of your—.” The filmmaker reportedly refused to provide the rest of his message.

Zhou’s allegations don’t exist in a vacuum. In 2019, amid a custody battle over their then-6-year-old daughter, the Hawkeye actor, who had recently been hinting about a potential return to the MCU, was accused by his ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco, of similarly abusive behavior. The two married in 2014 before splitting ten months later over “irreconcilable differences.” Pacheco has also called him an “unfit parent,” providing allegations of Renner’s drug use and lack of care for keeping drugs away from their daughter, as well as accusing him of threatening to kill both Pacheco and himself. For his part, the actor has denied the allegations as “clickbait.” Zhou ended her original string of posts about Renner, saying, “I speak up today not only for myself but for every woman who might find herself in a similar situation still today, silenced, intimidated, or afraid to lose work/opportunities for telling the truth. If we don’t reveal what’s behind the curtain, can there ever truly be justice in this industry or in this world?”

Stay tuned here at Collider for more as the situation unfolds.