On Wednesday, veteran casting associate Andy Henry reportedly manipulated actresses into disrobing during private, paid auditioning sessions. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this behavior got Henry fired from his CSI casting job and his own firm in 2008, as it was revealed he was using this strategy on aspiring actresses seeking costarring roles in the show.
Sadly, some women fell for Andy’s “coaching technique”, as they felt compelled to please him since he was the key to landing a speaking role, The Hollywood Reporter claims.
Since the firing was not publicly disclosed, Henry continued to work on several major motion pictures including Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Descendants, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Elysium.
Five women have made the decision to come forward to explain their unpleasant experiences with Andy. These women became connected thanks to the #MeToo campaign. Sadly, the women feel they were preyed upon.
In addition, during these “coaching technique” sessions, Henry used the same scene from a 2006 episode of the procedural, where a character struggles with a rare genetic disorder that causes excess hair growth. On meeting the casting professional at Reel Pros, actress Jenny Kern recalled:
“His line was, ‘It’s a really challenging scene and I can tell you can handle it, but it definitely requires more work than what we do here. Do you have any time to stay afterward to push a little harder with [the material]?’ I was really flattered.”
Andy had Jenny perform the scene several times before suggesting that, in order to achieve “more vulnerability,” she should take her bra off. According to Kern, the casting associated became upset with the situation and “incrementally asked [her] to take [her] clothes off.” Jenny eventually complied so that she could get the meeting over with.
After manipulating Jenny into her underwear, Andy began to improvise a scene that was highly inappropriate. She continued:
“He started saying things, improvising as this detective character: ‘I can see your tits,’ ‘I can see you shave your pussy.’ He did it until I finally cried.”
He ended the meeting by thanking Jenny for her acting performance.
Tessa Gross had another run-in with Andy while at Culver City’s acting center ITA. She claimed:
“He prefaced by saying, as he’d playact frustration, running his hands through his hair, ‘This is going to seem super-crazy, but don’t think it’s super-weird.’ That he works with actresses all the time. His thing was that [the performance] would feel more authentic if you can feel your nipples against your clothes. I thought, ‘I need to get out of here.’ But there’s also this sick actor part of me that thought, ‘I need to get out of here as friends.'”
Tessa chose to leave the meeting, as she was pregnant and not eager to show her baby bump to a stranger. Gross later emailed ITA about Andy’s behavior and later received the following reply.
“Dear God! Just tell me that no one asked you to disrobe!!!”
Andy’s advances left an impact on his victims as many began to doubt their future as an actress following the upsetting situations. Catherine Black, who rebuffed Henry’s request at AIA Actor’s Studio, said:
“It really planted a seed in my head, that maybe I wasn’t good enough. Of, what did I do wrong? It made me feel ashamed.”
Through AIA, Andy reportedly met another victim, who he allegedly groped. Mandy June Turpin claims Henry touched her shoulders and brest during their sessions.
“I thought, ‘Thank God, somebody said something.’ You’re afraid to speak up. You’re someone without credits. And he went on to work again in the business anyway.”
Andy also reportedly preyed on an intern who worked at the casting firm where he worked, named Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer. Reportedly, Henry offered to give aspiring star Jacqueline Mueller private acting advice back in 2008. Using the same CSI scene, the casting expert advised the intern to take off her bra, a request she followed. When Andy told her to unzip her sweater, Mueller realized the situation had become one of misconduct.
Jacqueline remembered:
“Then he asked me to unzip my sweater. If I’d unzipped it, I would’ve been topless. I felt disgusted and bamboozled.”
In order to “loosen” her up, Andy then offered Mueller a glass of whiskey. She quipped:
“I don’t remember him reaching out to the men in the office to ‘help’ them.”
Ugh. Andy has since responded to the allegations with the following statement:
“Nine years ago, I tried what I thought was a coaching technique, but which I learned very quickly was foolish and foolhardy. It was brought to light almost immediately, and as you were correctly informed, I was terminated from my employment in 2008 as a result.
I was then, and remain to this day, profoundly sorry about these incidents. I took responsibility right away for using nudity as a technique to explore the vulnerability portrayed in a scene, without being cognizant of the potential damage to the human being in the room. I was not aware of the allegations of fondling until now, and do not believe or recall that such a thing happened. I never meant to make anyone feel pressured into doing anything, nor did I ever consciously intend to hurt anyone.
My job was gone, my standing in the entertainment community was greatly lowered, and my career options were severely curtailed. I lost my marriage and declared bankruptcy as a result. I was punished for my actions, but I have spent the last nine years rebuilding myself into a person who could never do such a thoughtless and careless thing again. I have formally converted to Judaism, I have dedicated my life to the service of God and to trying to make some repair in this world. And I have striven to live and work every day as honorably and as honestly as possible. I am, again, inexpressibly sorry for the pain that these incidents caused.”
You can watch a 2010 interview with Andy Henry below:
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