Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner, best known to millions as Marvel’s Hawkeye, has found himself in the spotlight once again, this time for reasons far removed from his on-screen heroics.
The Oscar-nominated actor is facing serious allegations from Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou, who claims that Renner threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on her after a private dispute.
Yi Zhou, who worked with Renner on a documentary and an animated film, went public with her accusations in a series of Instagram posts this week, describing her experience as frightening and emotionally distressing.
Zhou claims that Renner initially contacted her in June 2025 and sent her "a string of unwanted/unsolicited pornographic images of himself" through WhatsApp.
The two had reportedly developed a personal relationship while working together, but things took a disturbing turn when Zhou visited Renner’s Nevada home to discuss their collaborative project, Chronicles of Disney.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Zhou recalled that the actor “got very very angry” after drinking a full bottle of wine.
“I had to location share to my team, my parents and Disney colleagues in case something happens to me they know where I am. I had to lock myself in a room to be safe praying he would not come into the room at night as he was really angry. I did not say a word, I was so scared for my life,” she said.
Leaked messages she allegedly sent to her Disney colleagues from that night show her expressing fear and calling Renner “violent.”
One colleague reportedly advised her to lock herself in, to which Zhou replied, “I’m [so] worried he yelled for 2 hours with one bottle of wine down alone.”
Zhou further alleged that when she confronted Renner privately about his behaviour, asking him to “respect me as a woman and as a filmmaker,” he responded by threatening to call immigration on her.
“When I called him out privately about his past misconduct and asked him to behave properly, to respect me as a woman and as a filmmaker, he threatened to call immigration/ICE on me, an act that deeply shocked and frightened me,” she wrote.
Zhou, who was born in Shanghai and raised in Rome, is a filmmaker and artist educated at the London School of Economics before building a creative career in Paris.
She also shared screenshots of alleged text messages with Renner — including one where he wrote, “Immigration will be notified of your,” though the message appeared to be cut off.
The allegations have once again drawn attention to Renner’s troubled past. His ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco, had previously accused him of threatening her life and using drugs — claims Renner has denied.
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