Four months after Sebastian Bear-McClard was accused of sexual misconduct and grooming, his former producing partner addressed the “disgusting” allegations for the first time.
“When you find out something about somebody that you didn’t realize, you just have to be much more careful,” Benny Safdie told GQ in an interview published Monday.
“It’s a lot, and it’s not something that you want to have happen to anybody,” the director, 37, continued. “And when you find it out, the one thing that you can do is really just take control.”
Notably, by the time multiple women came forward in March against Bear-McClard, Benny and brother Josh Safdie had already fired Emily Ratajkowski’s estranged husband from their company, Elara Pictures.
“The Elara team were made aware of Sebastian McClard’s behavior in July 2022,” the siblings’ rep said at the time. “They took immediate action and terminated him.”
The trio launched Elara in 2014 alongside producer Oscar Boyson.
When Pvnew broke the news of Bear-McClard’s termination over “complaints about his behavior” in August 2022, he issued a denial.
The filmmaker, 36, claimed to us at the time that he had simply taken a break from work to care for his sick mother.
Pvnew exclusively reported the previous month that Ratajkowski, 32, was divorcing Bear-McClard after four years of marriage, with a source calling him a “serial cheater.”
The model filed for divorce in September 2022 but has yet to address her soon-to-be ex’s alleged grooming and sexual misconduct as they battle for custody of their 2-year-old son, Sylvester.
However, Ratajkowski’s friends told PvNew she was “not surprised.”
The “Gone Girl” star opened up to Harper’s Bazaar the following month about feeling “all the emotions” from her breakup and knowing she’ll “be OK.”
While Bear-McClard has remained mostly under the radar besides occasional photographs out and about in New York City, Ratajkowski has been making headlines all year for her high-profile romances.
Not only did the “iCarly” alum have a fling with Pete Davidson following his split from Kim Kardashian, but she made out with Harry Styles in Tokyo in March.
After seemingly coming out as bisexual in an October 2022 TikTok video, Ratajkowski told HommesGirls that she would “love to” date a woman.
“[I’m] waiting for the right one to come along,” the “My Body” author explained during the May interview, calling Megan Thee Stallion her type.
