Former WME Agent Adam Venit Sued for Assault, Domestic Violence by Ex-Wife
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Former Hollywood powerbroker Adam Venit has been sued by his ex-wife, who accuses him of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking and says she was “trapped in a dangerously violent and abusive marriage.”
In the suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Sunday, Trina Venit claims that her ex-husband, a former WME agent, “strangled, punched, kicked, drugged and sexually assaulted her, leaving her bloodied, bruised and scarred on too many occasions to count.”
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Adam Venit, who once counted Adam Sandler, Casey Affleck and Dustin Hoffman as clients, left WME in September 2018 after he and the firm settled a lawsuit from Terry Crews alleging the executive groped the actor at a West Hollywood party. The Los Angeles Police Department turned its investigation into the incident over to country prosecutors, but they ultimately declined to press charges. (Crews fired WME after he sued.)
The complaint details numerous instances of alleged abuse over the course of the couple’s 20-year marriage. In one of the more violent alleged altercations, Adam Venit strangled his ex-wife, leading her to call the police, the complaint claims. Once law enforcement arrived, he allegedly convinced them that she had tried to kill herself and had her taken into custody, according to the suit. Adam Venit allegedly used the time she was away from home to destroy evidence of his abuse.
“Adam’s fading Hollywood pedigree cannot and must not serve to protect him any longer,” reads the complaint. “Although he may have once been ‘untouchable,’ he, like any other abuser, is not above the law and must be held accountable for his deplorable acts of violence.”
Adam Venit filed for divorce in March 2021. His ex-wife obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order three months later. Evidence submitted with the restraining order included several instances of domestic violence and reflects that the LAPD confiscated a cache of weapons and ammunition from the former WME agent. Adam Venit filed for his own restraining order to undercut his ex-wife’s assault claims, the lawsuit says.
Trina Venit also claims her ex-husband’s drug, steroid and alcohol abuse has “spiraled out of control.”
The complaint alleges domestic violence, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment and defamation, among other claims. Trina Venit is represented by Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, which represented Crews in his suit.
Endeavor, WME and attorneys who represented Adam Venit in Crews’ suit didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Adam Venit, who currently resides in Hawaii, could not be reached for comment.
