Benny Safdie Addresses ‘Disgusting’ Accusations Against Sebastian Bear-McClard

Benny Safdie, one half of the award-winning directing duo The Safdie Brothers, is speaking out about the sexual misconduct allegations against his former collaborator Sebastian Bear-McClard, who has since exited the Safdies’ production company.

“It’s disgusting, and when you find out something about somebody that you didn’t realize, you just have to be much more careful,” Safdie told GQ in a new profile. “It’s a lot, and it’s not something that you want to have happen to anybody. And when you find it out, the one thing that you can do is really just take control.”

In a Variety story published in March, multiple women accused Bear-McClard—who co-produced Benny and Josh Safdies’ critically acclaimed films Good Time and Uncut Gems—of engaging in troubling and predatory behavior, including grooming, sexual assault, and, in one alleged victim’s case, calling them numerous slurs. In the article, a spokesperson for the Safdies said that the brothers became “aware of Sebastian McClard’s behavior in July 2022” and “took immediate action and terminated him” from their company Elara Pictures.

Read more at The Daily Beast.