Jenny Mollen is opening up about the sexual assault she experienced at the hands of a massage therapist.

In a new essay published to Substack, the author, who shares two children with husband Jason Biggs, pulled back the curtain on a traumatic encounter she experienced at spa three years ago in New York City. She began: 

“I’d been invited to the millennial spa for a comped massage and an adaptogen infused latte with the understanding that I would talk favorably about the experience on social media.”

In a cruel twist of irony, the day was February 25, 2020 — as she notes, it was the very day Harvey Weinstein was first convicted on rape charges. If anything this could have been celebratory. She added:

“From the moment I walked in I felt safe, surrounded by a diverse assortment of likeminded women and scented candles.”

However, that veil of safety would soon be yanked away.

She recalled that after filling out “a short intake form,” she was introduced to her massage therapist, who she noted had “glowing reviews” from staff members and friends. As he escorted her to the massage room, he assured her: 

“Since you are a first time client, I just want you to know that this is your space and you are completely in control no matter what happens.”

When alone in the room, Jenny stripped away her clothing — but notably left on her underwear — and got under the sheet on the massage table. She then called out to the masseur that she was “ready” to begin. Right away, her massage began to feel different than his promising message beforehand: 

“Despite his initial comments about respecting my space and modesty, the therapist didn’t try to avoid my glutes nor did he seem self-conscious about getting too close to my breasts. He prodded me with fingers that felt as wide as Olive Garden breadsticks and contorted me into various positions, folding me in half like I was some kind of Magician’s assistant.”

However, the Angel alum went with it as she was confident in the safety of the “female founded spa”: 

“His touch, while potentially sensual under other circumstances, felt innocuous. How could it not be? We were barely alone in a zero tolerance, female founded girl spa.”

The 43-year-old revealed the massage didn’t remain harmless for long: 

“The therapist tipped me backwards, holding me like one of those damsels in distress on the cover of romance novels. I remember trying to keep my lips sealed so as not to breathe stale espresso into his face when I felt one of his hands move from my stomach to the gap between my breasts. ‘Can I touch here?’ he half-whispered, sitting me back up and moving his hands over my breasts.”

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Things just continued to get worse and worse:

“The therapist continued stroking and rubbing my chest when suddenly his hand moved to my vagina. ‘Can I touch here?’ he might have asked, already starting to masturbate me.”

Wow. The wording. That is not a massage. Without consent, that is a sexual assault.

Jenny said that at that point she was “frozen in shock,” adding, “I thought I was hallucinating.”

If there was any question as to whether this was a misunderstanding of a massage, forget it. She recalled what happened next was overtly sexual, not ambiguous in any way — he started kissing her:

“I struggled to speak when suddenly his lips were on mine and his tongue was in my mouth. I turned my head away and cupped my hand over my face as he moved down my neck and started licking my nipple. What was happening was wrong, but not in a violent obvious way where I would feel justified in calling to my mother. It was a slow and subtle assault that I felt somehow complicit in.”

How absolutely awful.

However, after the assailant attempted to remove her underwear, Jenny found the courage in herself to speak up:

“‘No…uh. I… can’t I’m married.’ I declined, politely as if my committed relationship was the only thing standing between us. I wanted to extricate but I also didn’t want to offend for fear of retribution.”

Remember when he told her she was “in complete control”? She didn’t even feel empowered enough to call out what was happening. She still felt she had to be polite. That is truly heartbreaking. Thankfully he did respect her NO:

“Hearing my discomfort, he immediately stopped and launched into an apology. He said something like ‘Okay,’ ‘of course,’ or ‘your wish is my command’ then turned back into a real massage therapist and asked if he could do one more maneuver to crack my back before we finished.”

It became clear to the Live Fast Die Hot author that this man knew what he was doing was wrong — as he attempted to silence her by requesting she keep the encounter between the two of them as he “had two kids” and could get “fired.”

Following the massage, the therapist attempted to make small talk with Jenny, relating over the fact that they both were parents to two sons — but very, very badly:

“‘I have to be extra careful to make sure I’m not raising two little rapists,’ he sighed with zero irony. ‘Sorry again about all that.’ He said, the way a waiter would if he’d accidentally knocked over your drink.”

Jenny later visited a police station to learn more about potentially pressing charges — but didn’t end up doing so. However, she still thinks back on the terrifying experience:

“Why didn’t I say no when he made a move? Why didn’t I scream for help? Why didn’t I run away? I don’t know. I just didn’t.”

What a completely horrifying experience. We hope that this man has been removed from the facility, and we applaud Jenny for speaking up. She did so, she said on Instagram, in honor of E. Jean Carroll, whose defamation trial against former president Donald Trump — centering on accusations he raped her in a department store dressing room — is in full swing.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources

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