Late Comedy Legend Jerry Lewis Accused of Sexual Assault by Former Co-Stars

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The late comedy legend Jerry Lewis has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by several of his former co-stars.

Allen V. Farrow directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering interviewed the alleged victims for an article in Vanity Fair, which also included a mini-documentary made in collaboration with the magazine.

The piece included accusations from several women. But Karen Sharpe, cast in 1964 comedy The Disorderly Orderly, and Hope Holiday, cast in 1961 film The Ladies Man, leveled the most serious allegations against the comedian.

Sharpe claimed that while filming The Disorderly Orderly Lewis called her into his dressing room to see what she looked like with her costume on. He then asked his guards to leave.

Lewis then allegedly “started moving in on” Sharpe once they were alone.

“He grabbed me. He began to fondle me. He unzipped his pants. Quite frankly, I was dumbstruck,” Sharpe told Vanity Fair. “I put my hand up and said, ‘Wait a minute. I don’t know if this is a requirement for your leading ladies, but this is something I don’t do.’”

Sharpe said her rejection left Lewis “furious,” adding, “I got the feeling that that never really happened to him.”

She alleged that following the incident, Lewis prohibited anyone working on the film from speaking to her for the remainder of the production. She also claimed Lewis did not rehearse with her and instead sent a stand-in.

According to Sharpe, when production ended and she thanked Lewis for both a pay raise and her “beautiful costumes,” he interrupted her to praise her as “a hell of a girl.”

Lewis allegedly told Sharpe that he didn’t know how she came to work every day, adding, “You see, I’m sick.”

“Jerry, bullshit. Is that your excuse for bad behavior—that you’re sick and people are supposed to excuse that? Well, I don’t excuse that. It was the most unprofessional leading man/leading lady relationship I’ve ever had in my 20 years as an actor,” Sharpe purportedly said in response. “Just think how much better we could have been if you’d been professional and cooperated.

Hope Holiday, who had known Lewis since she was 13 but was cast opposite the actor while in her 30s, described a similar incident involving his dressing room.

The Ladies Man actress alleged that Lewis once locked her inside of his dressing room with just the push of a button and began masturbating in front of her.

“Then he starts to talk to me: ‘Y’know, you could be very attractive but you wear pants all the time,” she claimed. “I have never seen you in a skirt. You have nice legs and you’ve got good boobs.'”

Holiday purportedly attempted to stop Lewis by explaining that her boyfriend was waiting for her outside, but that the actor continued to talk to her about sex.

“He starts to talk dirty to me and as he’s talking, the pants open, and the ugly thing came out and he starts to jerk off,” Holiday added. “I was frightened … I just sat there and I wanted to leave so badly.”

According to Holiday, she later slapped Lewis a little too hard while filming a scene requiring her to hit him, which he took personally, causing him to walk off set and sulk “for an hour.”

“He finally came back and didn’t talk to me,” she added. “He never spoke to me again.”