Jenny Mollen revealed she was the victim of a “slow and subtle assault” by a massage therapist at a New York City spa.
The actress, who is married to “American Pie” star Jason Biggs, detailed the harrowing February 2020 incident in an essay titled “Tell Me a Time You Were Molested,” which she posted on Substack Friday.
“I’d been invited to the millennial spa for a comped massage and an adaptogen infused latte with the understanding that I would talk favorably about the experience on social media,” Mollen, 43, recalled of the 80-minute treatment.
“Despite his initial comments about respecting my space and modesty, the therapist didn’t try to avoid my glutes nor did he seem self-conscious about getting too close to my breasts,” she went on.
“He prodded me with fingers that felt as wide as Olive Garden breadsticks and contorted me into various positions, folding me in half like I was some kind of Magician’s assistant. I wasn’t uncomfortable with his forwardness. If anything, I was relieved that he wasn’t holding back and optimistic that he would have the strength to dig this one particularly burdensome knot out of my right trap.”
The “Angel” star explained that the therapist’s touch initially felt “innocuous.” However, she quickly realized it was not a typical spa treatment.
“After draping my arms around his shoulders, the therapist tipped me backwards, holding me like one of those damsels in distress on the cover of romance novels,” she wrote.
“I felt one of his hands move from my stomach to the gap between my breasts. ‘Can I touch here?’ he half-whispered, sitting me back up and moving his hands over my breasts.”
Mollen, who noted that she had “no reason” not to trust the professional, shared that he then began to “masturbate” her.
“The therapist continued stroking and rubbing my chest when suddenly his hand moved to my vagina. What was happening was wrong, but not in a violent obvious way where I would feel justified in calling to my mother. It was a slow and subtle assault that I felt somehow complicit in,” she remembered.
“‘Can I touch here?’ he might have asked, already starting to masturbate me. Frozen in shock, I thought I was hallucinating. I struggled to speak when suddenly his lips were on mine and his tongue was in my mouth. I turned my head away and cupped my hand over my face as he moved down my neck and started licking my nipple.”
The essayist said she spoke up once the therapist attempted to take off her underwear.
“‘No…uh. I… can’t I’m married.’ I declined, politely as if my committed relationship was the only thing standing between us. I wanted to extricate but I also didn’t want to offend for fear of retribution,” she wrote.
Mollen — who shares sons Sid, 9, and Lazlo, 5, with Biggs — said the man “immediately stopped and launched into an apology.”
After the treatment, the pair made small talk about being parents to two boys before the man made a disturbing comment.
“‘I have to be extra careful to make sure I’m not raising two little rapists,’ he sighed with zero irony,” the “Girls” actress wrote.
“‘Sorry again about all that.’ He said, the way a waiter would if he’d accidentally knocked over your drink.”
Mollen told her readers that she visited a police station to inquire about pressing charges, though she ultimately chose not to.
She later discovered that the therapist was fired by the spa and had a complaint filed against his massage license.
“Why didn’t you say, ‘no’ when he made a move? ‘Why didn’t you scream for help? Why didn’t you run away?’ I asked myself over and over,” she continued.
“Yes, I was angry with him but more than him, I was angry with myself for letting it happen.”
Mollen concluded the essay, “Why didn’t I say no when he made a move? Why didn’t I scream for help? Why didn’t I run away? I don’t know. I just didn’t. Most women don’t.”
