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Bryan Callen has denied the sexual assault and misconduct allegations made against him in a new video on social media.
The comedian and actor, 53, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a message directly to his fans denying the accusations and announced he is taking a "leave of absence" from his podcast "The Fighter and the Kid," which he co-hosts with former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub.
"When you're in a situation like I am, you get a lot of advice from a lot of different people, and it usually falls into two different categories. They either tell you to post a statement and disappear or they say to lay low and let the news cycle pass you by," Callen explained in the post. "Well, for better or for worse, I'm not doing any of that."
ACTOR BRYAN CALLEN ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY MULTIPLE WOMEN
"The Goldbergs" star continued, "I never thought in a million years I would be sitting here defending myself against something I did not do 21 years ago.
"I categorically and absolutely deny all the allegations against me," Callen said. "I wanted you to see me say that, I didn't want to post some stale statement. I wanted you to hear that come out of my mouth."
He stated his alleged former actions "are not things that I could do, those are not things that I would ever do. That is not how I have ever lived my life."
Callen said he believes in the #MeToo movement because it is "one of the most important movements of my lifetime, because of the first time in history it gives women recourse against the abuse of power, and that makes the world a better place."
COMEDIAN CHRIS D'ELIA DENIES SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS, 'KNOWINGLY' PURSUING UNDERAGE WOMEN
"But I also believe in due process, and we live in a very strange time where anybody can make an allegation against you and you are guilty until proven innocent," he said. "It's just a fact that social media and the press alone can act as judge, jury and executioner… [so] when something like this happens, this is pretty much the only way you can defend yourself."
Last week, the Los Angeles Times, published a report in which four women came forward and claimed that Callen was sexually inappropriate with them.
Comedian Bryan Callen has denied the sexual misconduct allegations made against him. (Jim Spellman/Getty Images)
One accuser, Katherine Fiore Tigerman, told the Times that in 1999 the 53-year-old entertainer held her down and forced her to have sex with him even though she told him to stop.
Callen said to the Times, “Let me be very clear: I have never raped, forced myself upon any woman nor offered to trade stage time for sex. EVER.
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“I know the truth. And I can only hold my head up high, remain true to myself, my family, my audience and know that I will not allow the cancel culture to subvert what I know and as importantly, what they know, is the truth," he added.
If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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