On January 13, actor-singer Ansel Elgort was spotted taking the subway in Manhattan, New York City, with his partner and newborn. TMZ captured pictures of the Baby Driver star carrying his onesie-clad infant inside a papoose while sporting black leather pants and a designer blue-white high-neck sweater.
Meanwhile, his partner, whose name remains unknown, was dressed in denim pants and a Prada jacket. She was flaunting a ring on her engagement finger.
Elgort, 31, has been keeping a low profile ever since he was accused of s*xual assault by an X user named Gabby in June 2020. According to the woman, the alleged abuse happened in New York in 2014 when she was 17, and Ansel was 20.
Back then, the West Side Story actor denied the allegation and said he shared a “brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship” with his accuser.
Besides Tuesday’s appearance on the NYC subway, Ansel Elgort was also seen taking a walk with his partner, kid, and his would-be in-laws.
The actor’s last prominent public appearance was in Italy in 2022.
Exploring Ansel Elgort’s life following assault allegations
In mid-2020, as the world was struggling through the COVID-19 lockdown, a woman named Gabby appeared on Twitter and shared her “story with Ansel Elgort” from six years ago, when she was still a minor, and he was a rising star in Hollywood.
“I didn’t think he’d ever see my dm [on Snapchat]. I was just a kid and was a fan of him,” she began.
Gabby claimed to have lost her virginity to Elgort and “sobbing in pain” right after, adding that it was seemingly a non-consensual encounter.
“So, when it happened, instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having s*x, knowing it was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn’t want to do it, the only words that came out of his mouth were ‘We need to break you in,’” the alleged victim wrote.
Gabby mentioned that the alleged experience gave her PTSD and panic attacks, and she had to go through “therapy” to “heal” and be “finally ready to talk about it.”
The alleged victim also accused Ansel Elgort of calling her a “beautiful, young lady,” purportedly asking her for explicit images, and proposing a threesome with an underage friend of hers. She extended her solidarity to other alleged victims of the actor and shared a photo with Elgort and screenshots of their alleged text exchange from 2014.
While Gabby later took down the post as well as her account, screenshots of her allegations continued to circulate across social media platforms.
Around the same time, two other women claimed that Ansel approached them via Snapchat when they were both underage. One of them even alleged that she went on two dates with Elgort when she was 16.
“At the age of 16, I was not aware how predatory and creepy this behavior was. Now, as a woman in her 20s, I see this for what it is,” the woman wrote on X.
A fourth woman came forward accusing Ansel Elgort of sending her alleged d**k pictures when she was in grade 8, calling his actions “predatory” and their online interactions “s*xual” and “inappropriate.”
“I was 14, I had NO idea what was going on, and I was terrified,” the woman wrote.
Amidst these rising allegations, an April 2020 tweet resurfaced where a French woman tagged Elgort and asked whether he recalled DM-ing her when she was 15, and he was 21. She also attached screenshots of Ansel allegedly asking her to visit him at his hotel room the next time he was in London, urging her to send “something s*xy,” and expressing his desire to kiss her.
The Carrie actor was quick to respond to the accusations. He took to X and wrote being “distressed” by the posts against him. While he didn’t address other accusers, he claimed his encounter with Gabby was “consensual” and “her description of events is simply not what happened.”
“I have never and would never assault anyone,” he added.
Ansel Elgort also explained that he could have handled the breakup better without disappearing and cutting off all ties at random, claiming it was an “immature and cruel thing to do.”
“As I look back at my attitude, I am disgusted and deeply ashamed of the way I acted. I am truly sorry. I know I must continue to reflect, learn, and work to grow in empathy,” he wrote.
It is noteworthy that the actor took a year-long social media hiatus following the accusations against him. He also took down all his posts, including the above-mentioned clarification from his Instagram.
Amid the scandal, Ansel Elgort was still in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Violetta Komyshan. However, the high school sweethearts split in 2022 after a decade-long romance.
When the assault accusations first surfaced, Elgort was awaiting the release of his Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story, which was eight months into post-production.
He was cast in the role of the male lead, Tony, opposite Rachel Zegler’s Maria. He told BBC Music Magazine in October 2018 that the Oscar-winning filmmaker called him to share the casting news. Spielberg himself told the publication:
“Sometimes on camera [Elgort] looks even younger than he is, then in the next second he looks like Marlon Brando. He has great power and also vulnerability. He is a boy and a man and so facile at how often these qualities are interchangeable.”
After the wrap in September 2019, Steven also thanked his “brilliantly talented, fiercely committed, generous, and apparently inexhaustible cast and crew of hundreds.”
Rachel Zegler, too, praised her onscreen partner, calling Ansel Elgort “literal magic.”
“Falling in love with him was easy. Happy wrap mi amor; catch ya on a fire escape sometime soon,” she added.
However, when rumors arose that Zegler was seemingly the third wheel in Elgort’s relationship with Komyshan, the actress took down her post.
West Side Story went on to release in December 2021 and became a critically acclaimed box-office success. At its New York premiere, Ansel Elgort was seen alongside the rest of the cast and his then-girlfriend Violetta. Sharing a photo from the event, Ansel made his Instagram comeback:
“I couldn’t be more proud to be standing alongside these extraordinary people.”
He also shared the teasers, trailers, press tours, red-carpet moments, and interviews related to the movie on his social media. While fans hailed his performance, many expressed disappointment that he faced no consequences for his alleged misconduct.
Regardless, he continued to appear on the LA premiere, a promotional episode on The Drew Barrymore Show, The Late Late Show with James Corden, American Music Awards, and the 2022 Critics’ Choice Awards. However, Ansel Elgort was absent from that year’s Academy Awards.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this West Side Story family. I’m so grateful for the times I have been able to go to the Oscars! It’s always so much fun,” he wrote on Instagram, marking his absence.
A month after that, Zegler sat down with The Hollywood Reporter during a cover story for her film, alongside her co-stars, Ariana DeBose and Rita Moreno.
“A lot has gone on in the world. A lot has changed very publicly, and privately as well. There’s been a lot of awakening. You just hope that the people involved are okay, that they are asked in a respectful manner and that they are given the opportunity to answer for themselves,” Zegler responded to the Elgort allegations.
DeBose continued:
“Only the people who were involved in that situation know what actually went down.”
Moreno shared similar sentiments and said it was not for her to comment on it.
“I think it would have been absolutely horrendous and wrong for anyone to take sides in that matter,” she added.
Before being cast in West Side Story, Ansel Elgort already had a successful career in Hollywood with his appearances in high-profile films such as The Fault in Our Stars, The Goldfinch, Paper Towns, and the Divergent franchise.
However, he hasn’t returned to the big screen since Spielberg’s musical. His only significant role was on HBO’s Tokyo Vice in the role of Jake Adelstein from 2022 to 2024. He was also the TV show’s executive producer.
Ansel Elgort’s music career also didn’t take off as expected. Under the pseudonym of Ansolo, he had released different kinds of music, including hip hop, soul, electronic dance, and R&B, since 2014. However, his last solo single, Supernova, came out in 2018.
Edited by Pallavi K