It doesn’t seem like a single day can pass without a Hollywood identity being thrust into a sexual scandal. And now, British singer Seal is the latest star to face concerning allegations.
Seal’s former neighbour and actress Tracey Birdsall tells TMZ she developed a close friendship with the the Kissed by a Rose hitmaker and during a visit at his home in 2016, he lunged at her and tried to kiss her in his kitchen.
According to Tracey, 54, Seal shouted at her: “What are you doing? I’m Kissing you!”
After she rejected him, the actress alleges the father-of-four reprimanded her for wearing shorts and a singlet top before trying to grope her chest.
Seal then asked Tracey to sit next to him on the couch before once again teasing her outfit and trying to touch her breasts.
An insider at L.A. County Sheriff’s Department tells TMZ a report for the alleged incident was filed over the weekend and is currently being investigated.
Tracey was neighbours with Seal and claims he tried to grope her breasts.
However a spokesperson for Seal has hit back at Tracey’s account.
“Seal vehemently denies the recent accusations made against him by a former neighbour for alleged misconduct of more than a year ago. He intends to vigorously defend himself against these false allegations,” his rep told TMZ.
Tracey says she decided to come forward with her story after Seal, who was previously married to supermodel Heidi Klum until 2014, took aim at Oprah Winfrey following her powerful Golden Globes Speech, which spoke of a “new day on the horizon” for all women while she denounced sexual predators.
“Seal vehemently denies the recent accusations made against him by a former neighbour for alleged misconduct of more than a year ago,” the star’s rep says.
Shortly after, however, whispers of discontent trickled in as her close friendship with Harvey Weinstein came to light.
The pair’s professional relationship stretches back decades and it was widely understood they were good friends for decades.
Seal, 54, was a little louder than a discreet whisper, calling out the media mogul in an Instagram post and deeming her an example of “sanctimonious Hollywood.”
He captioned the pic: “Oh I forgot, that’s right … you’d heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young starry-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad. #SanctimoniousHollywood.”
After coming under fire for his post, Seal apologised in a Facebook video and asked victims of sexual assault to “please keep showing that courage and please keep coming forward because that’s the only way that we get to solve this thing.”
If you or someone you know needs to talk about any of these issues, contact ReachOut, RAINN or Lifeline for support and advice.
Seal, pictured with his Voice co-star Delta Goodrem, came under fire for attacking Oprah.
