BlindspotStar Sullivan Stapleton Sued by Longtime Partner Alleging Domestic Abuse

Mar. 15, 2025

Sullivan Stapleton in August 2022.Photo:Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

The pair — who met in 2016 and started a romantic relationship two years later — began living together in April 2022, according to the filing. Kelley claims that after they cohabited, Stapleton “actively used threats of violence intimidation to subjugate [her] will to his own, and to enable him to accomplish the wrongful acts alleged hereinafter.”

In the lawsuit, Kelley alleged that Stapleton — who played Kurt Weller on the NBC series from 2015 to 2020 — placed her “in fear of physical harm, particularly if she did not give into his demands for sex and other demands, through statements made to her in an angry tone such as (1) ‘It’s survival of the fittest. I could kill you, but I don’t.’ (2) ‘I wouldn’t have a gun in the house. First of all, if I needed to kill you, I wouldn’t have to use a gun, I’d just use my hands’ and (3) ‘I have to train you just like I train my dog.’”

Kelley claimed her longtime partner was able to accomplish his actions “because she was financially dependent” on him.

Alexis Kelley and Sullivan Stapleton.Monica Schipper/Getty

Monica Schipper/Getty

Reps for Sullivan did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In the lawsuit, Kelley described several alleged incidents of abuse including one at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif. On June 27, 2022, she claimed that Stapleton became “enraged” after she was “unwilling” to engage in sexual intercourse while staying at a hotel.

Kelley claimed while in the bathroom he “continued to use physical force and the infliction of pain until she returned, under compulsion, to the bedroom.” She then allegedly “submitted herself, under compulsion, to sexual intercourse with him.”

Alexis Kelley and Sullivan Stapleton in October 2019.Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Kelley noted Stapleton placed security cameras in their home during the summer of 2023, which allegedly allowed him to “monitor, track, stalk, harass and control [her] from afar.” She claimed he then “grilled her on her activities out of the house.”

She claimed that his “interrogations became so stressful and intimidating that [she] limited activities outside the house, stayed home and suffered severe anxiety.” Kelley alleged that he refused to stop the surveillance when she asked and told her the cameras were for “her protection.”

In another alleged incident at a restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. in Aug. 2023, she claimed Stapleton “grabbed [her] angrily and pulled her toward him” before “aggressively put[ting] his hands around her neck in a choking move.” She was “humiliated, placed in fear and made to suffer pain from his conduct.”

Before a movie premiere on Nov. 2, 2023, Kelley claimed that Stapleton became “enraged and verbally abused” her when she did know the location of the parking entrance, which caused her to have fear of “immanent battery.” Once in the screening, he allegedly “forcefully grabbed and pitched her inner thigh and arm in a way that was painful and caused bruising.” She claimed the touching was “non-consensual, painful and humiliating.”

Sullivan Stapleton as Kurt Weller on ‘Blindspot’.Eric Liebowitz/NBC/Warner Bros/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Eric Liebowitz/NBC/Warner Bros/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

When returning from the screening, Stapleton’s driving was allegedly “so erratic that it terrified [Kelley] and caused her to fear for her life and safety.”

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After an alleged disagreement at a restaurant on Dec. 5, 2023, and inviting a friend over against his wishes, Stapleton allegedly “physically attacked” her and left her with injuries including a cut on the shoulder, facial bruising, swelling and a deep laceration on her cheek. A few days after the alleged incident, Stapleton allegedly told her, “You should think of your actions every time you look at your scar.”

Kelley claimed that due to Stapleton’s alleged actions, she will continue to experience “personal injury, pain and suffering, anguish and severe emotional distress.”

She is asking for a jury trial in addition to general and compensatory damages as well as punitive or exemplary damages.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com