"Bachelor" star Leandro Dottavio has taken a leave of absence from his stuntman gig at Universal Studios following sexual harassment allegations. (ABC)
After being called out for claims of sexual harassment by "Bachelor" alum Bekah Martinez, "Bachelorette" star Leandro Dottavio is now on leave from his stuntman job, according to USA TODAY.
"We recently became aware of the situation concerning Mr. Dottavio," said Gaby Davis, one of the office manager's at Action Horizons which presents the Universal Studios' Water World show where Dottavio performs. "We are allowing him the time he needs to handle the matter privately as the allegations did not arise from conduct in the workplace."
The 23-year-old nanny who appeared as a contestant on Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of "The Bachelor" took to Instagram last Wednesday to call out the long-haired contestant from Becca Kufrin's "Bachelorette" season, with a collection of screenshots from women who claimed that Dottavio had acted inappropriately toward them.
Martinez revealed to the New York Post that she stumbled upon a screenshot of a post by Dottavio dated from four years ago that said, “you need my big d---" while browsing "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" Reddit pages.
After Bekah Martinez brought sexual harassement allegations against Leo Dottavio to light on social media, the stuntman has taken a leave of absence from his current job. (ABC)
After Martinez shared the original screenshot on her Instagram, the reality star explained that she received "dozens of messages" from more women who responded to her and shared their own experiences.
“I started posting the screenshots [of their messages] because to me, it’s not a coincidence that multiple women would be saying similar things about the same person," she told the Post. “There’s no way these women happen to be lying about the same thing before seeing what other women are saying.”
Following the release of images on Martinez's Instagram, the 31-year-old stuntman denied her accusations.
Sexual harassment allegation screenshots from Martinez's Instagram. (Instagram)
In a statement to Fox News, the reality star said, “There have been some recent stories about me that have garnered attention and I want to address them. I want to start by saying no one has ever directly accused me of sexual harassment. No one has ever come to me in any way and told me I made them feel uncomfortable."
He continued, "However, I am not a perfect person, nor have I ever claimed to be. Did I do things in college that I would be embarrassed about now? Absolutely. Was I a part of my culture, the times, movies? Yes. I have grown as a person since college. I am not the man I was two years ago let alone 14 years ago. It’s important for women to speak out if they felt uncomfortable or harassed. I support that. If there was anyone I made feel uncomfortable why not come to me? I would love an opportunity to right my wrongs and speak to any woman that wants to tell me how and when I made them feel uncomfortable. I want to take this as an opportunity to better myself and the treatment of women in my life.”
Though Dottavio may be taking some time away from his job, he is slated to try his hand at love once again and appear on the upcoming season of "Bachelor In Paradise," though he said to not be part of the main cast.
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