In the doghouse? (Image via Instagram @bryanjaysinger)

Bryan Singer, accused credibly of molestating at least two teenagers and of mistreating other young people, is not going to be fired from his upcoming gig directly Red Sonja.

That Atlantic Singer Exposé Was “Killed by Heart Execs”

This, in spite of the fact that the title character is a sexual-abuse survivor ...

The film's producer, Avi Lerner, says of the explosive Singer allegations:

I know the difference between agenda-driven fake news and reality, and I am very comfortable with this decision. In America people are innocent until proven guilty.

Lerner is the Israeli-American founder of both Nu Image (Singer needs one of those!) and Millennium Films, which produce mostly action flicks. His biggest hits have included the 2008 Rambo reboot and The Expendables (2010). Notably, he has employed right-wing nutjob James Woods and has worked with Kevin Spacey.

More notably, Lerner was accused by Terry Crews of placing a call to Crews's manager to threaten the actor's career unless he dropped his high-profile sexual-assault case against William Morris Endeavor and Adam Venit.

This is clearly not a man who cares about sexual misconduct, so it now makes perfect sense why he would stand by his man.

Lerner's use of the phrase “fake news” in swatting away criticism of Singer caught my attention, as has Singer's Instagram, on which he has happily posted photos posing with George W. Bush and Bob Weinstein:

 

Bob Weinstein is, of course, Harvey Weinstein's estranged brother and business partner. He's not necessarily to be blamed for Harvey's misdeeds, but he's been accused of wrongdoing himself.

Tone-deaf (and conservagay) doesn't begin to describe Singer, but Lerner's support seemed so pointless to me, even if he has shown a disregard for complaints of sexual assault — why would a producer be so eager to keep a radioactive director? Singer directed Bohemian Rhapsody, or most of it, but that was then and this is now and even though that film is now the #1 drama of all time at the box office (God, you guys have shitty taste), it would seem financially risky to stick with Singer for a new project. This is not to mention Singer's reputation as a volatile person with whom to work.

But then again, Lerner has been sued as recently as 2017 for sexual harassment and gender discrimination. An anonymous defendant, a woman, claimed that during her five-year tenure under Lerner at Lerner's Nu Image — which ended with her firing in 2016 — she and other women were “subjected to a discriminatory, harassing and misogynistic work environment, hostile to female employees.” Women were allegedly called “whores, c*cksuckers and mistresses [by] owner Avi Lerner, head of development Boaz Davidson, head of production John Thompson, president of intemational sales and distribution Jeffrey Greenstein, and other high level employees.” Allegedly, a female VP at the firm was knocked “for not properly producing a movie because she was “too busy having sex with her boyfriend.”

Lerner said of the complaint, “It’s all a joke.”

I think to some of these moneymen, things like sexual harassment really are just that.

Here's hoping he sticks with Singer, it's a miserable experience and the movie tanks. If they can even find a self-respecting actress to take that part.