Ezra Miller Harassment Order Expires In Massachusetts; ‘Flash’ Star Says They Were “Unjustly And Directly Targeted”

Anthony D'Alessandro
·7 min read
56

EXCLUSIVE: A temporary harassment order issued against The Flash star Ezra Miller in Massachusetts after mother of a 12-year-old accused Miller of acting inappropriately around her child was lifted Friday after a court hearing.

The mother, Shannon Guin, accused the Fantastic Beasts star of menacing her family and acting inappropriately toward her nonbinary child in a story that appeared last summer in the Daily Beast.

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No criminal charges were ever filed. Miller’s attorney said all of the actor’s encounters with the child were initiated by the mother. The attorney, Marissa Elkins, said Miller was “never alone with the child and never interacted with the child outside of two brief encounters which occurred in the presence of several other adults.”

Elkins also said Miller never had a weapon on them during these encounters, as Guin has claimed.

Miller appeared in a hearing on the matter today in Greenfield District Court. Per sources and Elkins, Guin did not appear. The judge ruled that the order (read it here), originally set to expire July 1, was lifted.

“The original order, pursued by Shannon Guin, on behalf of her minor child, was based on untrue allegations,” Elkins said. “Frustratingly for Ezra, Guin lodged her false allegations at a time when Ezra was struggling with significant mental health issues, and was unable to come to court to defend themself against the spurious claims made by this individual. Had Ezra been able to appear in court last year and share the truth about their very limited interactions with Ms. Guin, I am confident the original order would have never been issued.”

Miller also released a statement today obtained by Deadline, marking the second time that they have spoken publicly since The Flash premiere a couple of weeks ago.

“I’m encouraged by today’s outcome and very grateful at this moment to everyone who has stood beside me and sought to ensure that this egregious misuse of the protective order system was halted,” they wrote.

“Protective orders are meant to provide safety for individuals, families and children who are in danger. They are not meant to be used as weapons by those seeking attention or fleeting tabloid fame or some sort of personal vengeance when there are people in true and dire need of these services.

“I have been unjustly and directly targeted by an individual who the facts have shown has a history of such manipulative and destructive action,” they continued.

Read their full statement below.

Miller was slapped with the order in what was a rough summer last year, which included stealing liquor from a neighbor’s house in Stamford, VT; Miller struck a plea deal in the case and is serving a one-year probation. In addition, the parents of then 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes asked a judge to issue an order of protection against the actor, saying Miller groomed and brainwashed Tokata. Tokata was on the record multiple times in opposition to her parents. They filed in June and withdrew their conservatorship request last August.

Miller apologized publicly last August, saying they were “suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment.” They also met with top Warner Bros brass Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy to mend fences.

“I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior,” they added in last August’s statement. “I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”

Meanwhile, filmmakers who’ve worked with Miller praise them for their talent and skill as an actor including Flash‘s Andy Muschietti and Dalíland director Mary Harron. Muschietti even said he’d work with Miller again in a Flash sequel.

Miller did not participate on the media tour for The Flash and neither did many of its castmembers. This factored into a lackluster opening for the DC movie, for which Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and DC bosses Peter Safran and James Gunn had high hopes. The pic opened stateside to $55 million and has a $94.2M running total as of Thursday and a global gross of $217.5M.

Here is today’s statement from Elkins:

Today, a harassment order against my client, Ezra Miller (they/them pronouns), issued by the Greenfield District Court one year ago, expired.

The original order, pursued by Shannon Guin, on behalf of her minor child, was based on untrue allegations. Frustratingly for Ezra, Guin lodged her false allegations at a time when Ezra was struggling with significant mental health issues, and was unable to come to court to defend themself against the spurious claims made by this individual. Had Ezra been able to appear in court last year and share the truth about their very limited interactions with Ms. Guin, I am confident the original order would have never been issued.

After one year of intensive, ongoing mental health therapy, Ezra is doing much better. They were present in court today to ensure that these false allegations would not go unchallenged, whether or not Guin returned to court asking that last year’s order be extended.

Guin did not return to Greenfield District Court today to perpetuate her falsehoods, but Ezra wishes to take the opportunity now to make several things very clear:

● Their three encounters with Guin were entirely initiated by her, exceedingly brief, and absolutely did not involve any inappropriate interaction with her child.

● My office has investigated Guin’s allegations extensively. We have interviewed multiple eyewitnesses to every encounter Ezra had with Ms. Guin and her child and reviewed the numerous text and Facebook messages Ms. Guin sent to people she knew from Ezra’s inner circle and it is very clear: Ezra only came to interact with Ms. Guin when she recognized Ezra and invited herself over when they were visiting the home of a good friend in Greenfield.

● Ezra was never alone with the child and never interacted with the child outside of two brief encounters which occurred in the presence of several other adults.

● There was absolutely nothing inappropriate about Ezra’s very limited conversations with this young fan.

● Ezra never possessed, much less displayed, a weapon in any of these brief encounters, as Ms. Guin has claimed. These claims are fabrications.

Ms. Guin sought out every opportunity for chance encounters with Ezra whenever they came to Greenfield to visit these same friends and attend music events. Days before seeking the harassment order last year, Guin was still trying to ingratiate herself with Ezra’s celebrity and perceived wealth by texting Ezra’s friend, Whitney Suter, even trying to orchestrate an invitation to Ezra’s home in Vermont. All of these efforts were rebuffed.

Ezra’s inability to appear in court prevented them from speaking out against Guin’s fake allegations, as well as presenting the aforementioned evidence. The media, clearly tipped off by Ms. Guin, reported her false allegations without any diligent effort to corroborate her claims.

Ezra does not deny that in the midst of their struggle that they have made mistakes and behaved at times in ways they wish they could take back. That, however, does not make every allegation, rumor, or false accusation true. There are real world consequences when claims like these are heedlessly amplified, without any regard for the facts or the truth. These false allegations, fanned by unscrupulous media, have threatened Ezra’s recovery, and done terrible damage to their reputation and career.

Nonetheless, Ezra is in a much healthier place than they were at this time last year and is very glad to put this behind them. They are grateful to their family, friends, and community for their love, compassion and support.

Thank you.

— Marissa Elkins, Esq.
Elkins, Auer, Rudof & Schiff

Here is Miller’s statement:

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