Jeremy Renner denies allegations of sending explicit messages and threatening to call immigration

Jeremy Renner denies claims by filmmaker Yi Zhou that he sent explicit messages and threatened to call ICE

Jeremy Renner has denied allegations made by Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou, who claimed the actor sent her “unwanted and unsolicited pornographic images” and later threatened to call immigration authorities on her.

In a statement to People on Friday, November 7, Renner’s attorney Marty Singer described Zhou’s allegations as “false, outrageous and highly defamatory.”

Singer said Zhou’s claims were retaliation after Renner “rejected her romantic advances” and declined to promote her film projects on social media.

According to Zhou, the alleged messages were sent in June through direct messages and WhatsApp. She stated that Renner became hostile after she confronted him about the images, allegedly warning her that he would “call ICE” — the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Singer disputed this account, claiming the two met only twice. Their first meeting took place in July in Reno, Nevada, where Renner was interviewed for Zhou’s documentary Chronicles of Disney. Singer said the pair had a “brief consensual encounter” during that meeting. They later met again in August but have not spoken since.

Renner’s legal representative added that Zhou had been “relentlessly harassing and threatening” the actor with “hundreds of unsolicited and unwanted messages.” Singer alleged that Zhou’s final message was sent on October 24 and that Renner has not responded to her since early autumn.

“The true facts are that Ms Zhou has relentlessly and aggressively harassed and pursued my client for months with no reciprocation on my client’s part, other than a single brief encounter on July 12 2025,” Singer said in the statement.

Representatives for Zhou have not responded publicly to the claims.