Ansel Elgort takes to Instagram and denies sexual assault claims by a fan

Ansel Elgort took to his social media on Saturday and denied accusations that he had sexually assaulted a fan in 2014, when she was 17. On Friday, a fan took to Twitter and accused the actor of sexual assault.

The tweet has since been deleted and the handle @Itsgabby is a private account. The user wrote "my story of Ansel Elgort," and said that she was "sexually assaulted a couple days after I turned 17."

Elgort on his part took to Instagram to deny the claims. "I was distressed to see the social media posts about me that have been circulating in the past 24 hours," he wrote on Saturday.

"I cannot claim to understand Gabby's feelings but her description of events is simply not what happened. I have never and would never assault anyone. What is true is that in New York in 2014, when I was 20, Gabby and I had a brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship. Unfortunately, I did not handle the breakup well. I stopped responding to her, which is an immature and cruel thing to do to someone. I know this belated apology does not absolve me of my unacceptable behaviour when I disappeared," the "Fault in Our Stars" actor said.

"As I look back at my attitude, I am disgusted and deeply ashamed of the way I acted. I am truly sorry. I know I must continue to reflect, learn, and work to grow in empathy," Elgort concluded.

The accuser in question wrote that when she was "just a kid and was a fan of him" and DMed Elgort on his private Snapchat account. But, she hadn't expected a response from the 26-year-old actor.

She claimed that when she met Elgort, "instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time," he forced himself on her and "made me think this is how sex was supposed to be." At the time, she didn't tell anyone about the interaction "because he said it could 'ruin his career.'"

"Years later I have PTSD, I have panic attacks, I go to therapy. I just want to heal and I want other girls who have been through the same s–t as me, you're not alone. It's a lot for me to even come on here and tell my story but I know it's needed," she added.

Meanwhile, Elgort has been dating high school sweetheart Violetta Komyshan since eight years. The couple briefly split in August 2014, but got back together five months later.