And in 2021, a man who was beneath 21 on the time stated that Cohen poured him two to a few drinks at Motel 23, the popular gay bar Cohen owns in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood with different traders. The man stated that he quickly had hassle holding his eyes open and his head up, and Cohen led him to a non-public house within the bar. “I don’t want to,” the person stated he advised Cohen, however he stated Cohen unbuttoned his pants and touched his genitals.
Swatting Cohen’s arms away is the very last thing the person remembers earlier than waking up the following morning alone on the curb of a Manhattan road, mendacity between two parked automobiles, he stated.
Along with different males interviewed by NBC News, he spoke on the situation of anonymity out of concern that there could be penalties from accusing somebody of Cohen’s stature. In this case and in others, NBC News withheld some specifics of the allegations to guard anonymity.
Since July, when an nameless Instagram account started posting allegations about Motel 23, NBC News has spoken to 45 individuals who stated they knew or interacted with Cohen in New York or Los Angeles over the previous 20 years. Nine of the lads accused Cohen, 45, of undesirable sexual conduct. This included 5 who stated that once they have been of their late teenagers or early 20s and craving for a sense of gay neighborhood, Cohen grabbed their genitals or buttocks at events he hosted or at Motel 23.
Six of the 9 accusers stated that as a result of they have been newly out of the closet and didn’t know many queer individuals when the encounters occurred, they presumed that the incidents have been regular inside the gay neighborhood, although they have been upset by them on the time.
Many of Cohen’s accusers added that gaining access to New York’s gay bars and events meant a lot to them, particularly for many who have been beneath 21, that they have been keen to place up with Cohen’s advances. The 5 males who stated Cohen groped them stated that whereas they have been dismayed and tried to maneuver away from him, they didn’t inform him to cease, as a result of they didn’t need to lose their connection to gay nightlife. It wasn’t nearly experiencing enjoyable nights out with their pals — it was concerning the sense of freedom and acceptance they felt when surrounded by different gay individuals, in some circumstances for the primary time of their lives, they stated. And Cohen held the keys to that world, his accusers stated.
Cohen declined NBC News’ requests for an interview. In a written response to emailed questions, his spokesperson Alafair Hall wrote: “Mr. Cohen absolutely denies allegations that he groped, sexually assaulted, forcibly kissed or demanded sex from anyone.” Hall added: “In his years of hosting parties, Mr. Cohen has never engaged in any sexual activity that was not unmistakably consensual. He takes these allegations seriously.”
In seven of the 9 circumstances, NBC News talked to witnesses, companions or pals who stated the lads had advised them of the encounters afterward. Three of the 9 males offered screenshots of non-public conversations they’d on social media with Cohen by which Cohen repeatedly requested the lads to have intercourse with him or requested for specific photographs, the screenshots present.
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None of Cohen’s accusers, who have been all of their late teenagers to mid-20s on the time of the incidents, went to the police. Nearly all stated that they didn’t grasp the gravity of the alleged encounters till months, and in some circumstances years, later.
Hall described Cohen as “a proud gay man with no shame about his activity on social media, where he has asked adult men to send him sexual pictures, including those of their genitals. But he has never pressured men to have sex.”
Cohen, the bulk owner of Motel 23, has connections to high-profile members of the LGBTQ neighborhood in New York and past. He opened the bar with monetary assist from 4 influential traders: Bryan Singer, the blockbuster filmmaker who individually has been accused of decades of sexual misconduct, which he denies; Jeff Davis, the Hollywood author and producer who’s greatest identified for creating the tv sequence “Criminal Minds” and “Teen Wolf”; Anthony Watson, a banking govt and a former board member of the LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD; and the financier Adam Press, a former board member of the queer advocacy group Freedom to Marry.
Paperwork submitted to the state in December 2021 exhibits that Press is not an investor in Motel 23. A consultant for Watson offered NBC News paperwork dated November 2021 exhibiting that he offered his stake in Motel 23 to Cohen, although that change will not be but mirrored in state paperwork, a consultant for the State Liquor Authority stated this week. Spokespeople for Watson, Press and Singer declined to remark; an agent for Davis didn’t reply to requests for remark.
There is not any indication that they knew concerning the allegations of misconduct towards Cohen and Motel 23 reported by NBC News.
Quiet allegations erupt into public view
Cohen has hosted gay parties at glamorous New York nightclubs — together with Goldbar, PHD Rooftop Lounge on the Dream Downtown lodge and Fishbowl on the Dream Midtown lodge — with dependable crowds of enticing males and star-studded visitor lists. Some of the world’s most well-known gay celebrities, together with British Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley, actor Neil Patrick Harris and rapper Lil Nas X, have been photographed with Cohen or made an look at Motel 23. Representatives for Daley, Harris and Lil Nas X didn’t reply to requests for remark.
“It was known for him to be an older man that liked the younger boys,” stated Brita Filter, a star of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” who has carried out in New York City’s gay bars for over eight years. “If you’re a really good-looking, young white boy, Michael is going to be into you.” Filter stated she has observed that Cohen’s events are frequented by younger males; she has not noticed Cohen harming anybody.
After Cohen opened Motel 23 in 2020, he was usually discovered on the entrance door, hand-picking which well-dressed younger males would achieve entry and which might not. With its plush cocktail lounge and sizable dance floor, the dimly lit bar resembled the nightclubs of Manhattan’s Meatpacking District and their unique attract.
The bar, and Cohen’s events elsewhere, have been a magnet for the under-21 set — particularly those that had Cohen’s approval, greater than two dozen individuals who frequented the bar and events stated.
A consultant for Goldbar declined to remark. A spokesperson for PHD Rooftop Lounge and Fishbowl didn’t remark.
A consultant for Cohen disputed that Motel 23 is understood for permitting in underage bar goers and stated that it’s widespread for individuals beneath 21 to make use of faux IDs to get into events and bars.
Allegations about Cohen’s conduct circulating amongst New York’s gay males erupted into public view in early July, when dozens of allegations about Motel 23 have been posted on an nameless Instagram account.
The man behind the account, “mymotel23reality,” who spoke on the situation of anonymity, stated he went to Motel 23 for the primary time in June. At the door, the person, who stated he had by no means met Cohen earlier than and doesn’t frequent New York’s gay nightlife scene, stated that Cohen was going to let him in at no cost, however cost his pal, who’s Black, $250 for admission.
“You’re going to want to let us in for free or else I will shut down your club,” the person, who’s white, recalled saying to Cohen.
He recalled Cohen replying, “I’d like to see you try.”
Two weeks later, the person created “mymotel23reality.” Within days, he had acquired a flood of messages with allegations, he stated.
The nameless claims posted by the account collectively allege that Motel 23’s owner turned gay events and bars, which some see as queer protected areas, into poisonous environments the place younger males have been subjected to undesirable sexual advances. (NBC News has not verified the claims made on the nameless Instagram account, which doesn’t point out Cohen, or anybody else, by title.)
The account additionally alleged that Motel 23’s door employees at occasions handled some males of coloration and ladies in another way from white males, together with charging them extra to enter.
NBC News spoke with eight individuals, together with the Instagram account creator, who say they skilled or witnessed Cohen or different employees members doing this at Motel 23.
Joseph Lucido, 27, who’s Asian American however describes himself as “white-passing,” stated that he went to Motel 23 with an Asian American pal in February. His pal approached the door forward of him, he stated, and the bouncer advised his pal the bar was “already full,” Lucido stated. But when Lucido stepped ahead a couple of minutes later, along with his pal behind him, they have been each allowed in, he stated.
Brittany Bennett, 31, stated that this spring, the bar’s door employees advised her she must pay a $150 cowl to enter, whereas the three pals who accompanied her — all gay males — may get in at no cost.
“It’s just so crazy that any discrimination’s happening at a gay bar,” she stated. “It was very heartbreaking and confusing.”
Hall, Cohen’s spokesperson, denied that the bar handled patrons in another way based mostly on their race or gender, including that “the allegations from the anonymous site are false.”
In a assertion offered by Cohen’s representatives, African American activist and DJ Joshua Zeke Thomas stated he has labored with Cohen for practically 10 years and has “never seen any evidence of racial bias or inappropriate conduct.” Thomas declined to be interviewed by NBC News.
On July 28, simply over three weeks after the nameless Instagram account launched, Motel 23 introduced by itself Instagram web page that it might be closing briefly for renovations. In the weeks afterward, its web site and social media accounts have been taken down.
Seeking New York newcomers
Long earlier than he opened Motel 23, Cohen had a knack for connecting with younger, gay males new to New York City, reaching out to them inside weeks of their arrival, 5 males stated.
T., who spoke on the situation that he solely be recognized by his first preliminary, stated he heard from Cohen even earlier. He stated that Cohen first contacted him on Facebook throughout his senior yr of highschool in 2013. T., who grew up in New Jersey, was making ready to attend Pace University and stated he had no mutual pals with Cohen on the time.
“I think he just looked at my Facebook photos and just had an inkling like, ‘Oh, he’s got to be gay,’” stated T., who was then 17. “He knew I was gay before I knew I was gay.”
T., who not has a copy of the dialog, stated he acquired Cohen’s first Facebook message whereas he was sitting in his highschool cafeteria.
“You don’t know me yet, but you will,” T. recalled Cohen saying.
A consultant for Cohen stated that as a social gathering promoter, he reached out to about 100 individuals he didn’t know every week to ask them to golf equipment, however he by no means sought out highschool college students for his events.
More lately, the person who stated Cohen touched his genitals at Motel 23 was additionally unfamiliar with New York when he first interacted with Cohen. He was beneath 21 and visiting the town in 2021 when he went to Motel 23, he stated, an account confirmed by two pals who have been with him that night time.
Once inside, he stated that Cohen approached him and supplied to get him a drink.
“He told me that guys that look like me should never have to pay for their drinks in New York,” the person recalled Cohen saying.
Cohen poured what the person believed was a vodka soda, however nothing for himself, the person stated. Shortly after ingesting two or three of Cohen’s combined drinks — and having had two drinks over the earlier 4 hours — the person stated he turned closely intoxicated.
“It was just like a really bizarre feeling that I had never really experienced,” the person stated. “I’ve been very drunk before, but I’ve never been struggling to keep my eyes open or have my muscles feel like they’re just really tired and that I kind of just need to lay.”
Three different males who spoke to NBC News described a equally heavy, paralyzed feeling after Cohen handed them drinks at events he was internet hosting at New York bars in 2018 and 2019. All stated it was not like something they’d ever felt whereas ingesting alcohol they usually suspected they’d been drugged.
The man who visited Motel 23 in 2021 stated Cohen escorted him to a non-public house on the bar, the place he lay down on a sofa or small mattress illuminated with crimson mild. He struggled to remain awake as Cohen unbuttoned his pants and started fondling him, he stated. He recalled saying “no” and “I don’t even want to do this,” whereas attempting to swat Cohen’s arms away.
“It was clear that I did not want to engage in that,” the person stated.
Hall, Cohen’s spokesperson, stated the person’s allegations, in addition to the descriptions from the opposite males who suspected they’d been drugged, are “absolutely false.”
After he blacked out and wakened exterior on the curb, the person stated, he didn’t instantly inform anybody what had occurred to him. He didn’t need to confront the gravity of it, and he wished to provide Cohen the profit of the doubt, he stated.
“I thought that if I told people, the version that they had of me in their head was as a weak kind of person who was dumb and had put themselves in this situation that this happened to them,” the person stated. “For my own sake, I didn’t want to process it.”
Over the next months, the person stated, Cohen messaged him repeatedly on social media, and whereas this made the person uncomfortable, he stated he initially stored the dialog going as a result of he noticed Cohen as a highly effective determine.
“I was really scared that I would be ruining a scene slash place for myself,” the person stated. “To me, it was clear that he was a prominent person in New York’s gay nightlife.”
After the nameless Instagram account launched, the person advised his two pals who have been with him that night time about what he stated Cohen had completed, the chums confirmed to NBC News.
From New York to L.A.
Cohen went to highschool in Marlboro, New Jersey, about an hour southwest of New York City. In 2000 he graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s diploma.
In 2003, he launched MJC Entertainment, a expertise administration firm, in New York. The enterprise’s most outstanding consumer was the actor and comic Daniel Franzese, who’s greatest identified for his position as Damian within the movie “Mean Girls.”
A consultant for Cohen stated he and Franzese had been pals however their relationship had soured, and Franzese advised NBC News, “I don’t recommend working with him,” and declined to remark additional.
In 2005, Cohen moved his expertise administration enterprise to Los Angeles to be nearer to Hollywood, in line with two individuals who have been acquainted with his operations on the time. Records present that Cohen obtained his California actual property license that December.
At a social gathering in Los Angeles in 2006, an actor then in his early 20s who had labored with Cohen alleges that Cohen took him into a bed room, jumped on high of him and “tried to stick his tongue down my throat,” the actor stated. The actor, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, stated he was capable of push Cohen off of him and depart the room.
“There was nothing, absolutely nothing mutual, absolutely nothing on my end for him to think that it was appropriate, period,” the actor stated. “I would imagine that worse things happened from him, so I count myself as being fortunate.”
Hall stated the actor’s allegation was “absolutely false.”
The actor stated he terminated his enterprise relationship with Cohen within the days after the encounter.
He stated Cohen “didn’t even recognize that anything bad had happened. He was like, ‘I’m not even a manager anymore, don’t worry about it, I’m doing real estate now and I’m moving back to New York.’”
Exclusive entry with a catch
Cohen purchased a condominium in Tribeca in 2007 and returned to New York. He quickly started shifting his profession into the nightlife scene.
He began internet hosting events at Phoenix Bar, a popular gay venue within the East Village. (The owner, Brenda Breathnach, stated Phoenix Bar employees managed the door and didn’t enable individuals beneath the age of 21 to enter; she declined to touch upon the misconduct allegations towards Cohen.) By 2014 Cohen was selling extra unique occasions at trendier, pricier locations, a record that finally included Fishbowl, PHD Rooftop, Goldbar, Beauty & Essex and The Wu Room. Cohen’s events have been identified to be a assured weekly spot with a giant crowd of principally younger, white males who have been well-dressed and able to dance.
Late one summer season night in 2015, Battersby was drawn into that world.
That night time, a few days after he arrived within the metropolis to attend New York University, Battersby, then 19, was strolling via Little Italy. As he handed Goldbar, a lounge on Broome Street, he stated Cohen referred to as out to him.
“He was like, ‘Hey, palm tree!’ — because I was wearing a palm tree shirt — ‘You gay?’ and I said ‘Yeah,’” Battersby, now 26, recalled. “He’s like ‘Come on in.’ And he was like, ‘Let me introduce you to some kids your age.’”
Inside, Cohen, then 38, launched Battersby to a giant group of different younger gay males — the kind of neighborhood he stated he had spent nearly all of his teenage years craving for. But all through the night, Battersby stated Cohen repeatedly caught his arms down Battersby’s pants with out his consent, groping his genitals and buttocks.
