A lawsuit filed on Wednesday has accused X-Men film franchise director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing a teenage male 15 years ago. According to a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court in Hawaii, Singer had offered the 17-year-old aspiring actor a role in an X-Men film, and likewise threatened to destroy his career, if the teen failed to acknowledge the director’s sexual advances.

Jeff Herman, the attorney who filed the suit, chose Hawaii, as that state had enacted legislature allowing for old sex abuse cases to be filed. Though, the window for these claims closes next week, right in time for Singer’s upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, which hits theaters in May.

The lawsuit details alleged sex abuse incidents that occurred in 1998 and 1999, mostly during parties at a California mansion, when the plaintiff was 17. The suit alleges that other casting couch scenarios occurred during two visits to Hawaii, adding that Singer “manipulated his power, wealth, and position in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse and exploit the underage Plaintiff through the use of drugs, alcohol, threats and inducements which resulted in Plaintiff suffering catastrophic psychological and emotional injuries.”

Here is the final trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past:

The lawsuit adds that Singer “promised acting roles to Plaintiff in an X-Men movie, in commercials, and in other of his projects, and professed that he would arrange for Plaintiff to audition for roles and projects in others’ productions.”

Interesting timing on the Bryan Singer story.

— Knight of Flowers (@SamuraiCicero) April 17, 2014

This Bryan Singer thing is crazy. The timing is troubling though. Why wait 15 years to make these claims?

— Jason Wood (@JayBWood) April 17, 2014

I'll be staying off the internet tomorrow when it becomes Bryan Singer Day

— Jeff Parker (@jeffparker) April 17, 2014

A representative for Singer commented, “We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit. It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan’ s new movie is about to open in a few weeks.” The representative added that the accusations were “completely without merit.”

The $250 million X-Men: Days of Future Past has an all-star cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Peter Dinklage and Michael Fassbender, and opens on May 23.

Image via Wikimedia Commons