Amy Seimetz, the Covenant actress, requested a restraining order against her former lover and director, Shane Carruth, on July 12, 2020. According to court filings, Seimetz’s previous boyfriend had tortured her mentally and physically for years. The actress and director met on the set of Upstream Color and started dating shortly thereafter, in December 2011. During their relationship, which terminated in early 2018, Carruth was abusive to the actress. However, the actress claims that the violence lasted for years after their divorce.
Seimetz said that her ex-partner became possessive after they married in 2013. Carruth was described as having “fits of wrath and furious outbursts that led to his being emotionally, psychologically, and physically abusive.”
Amy Seimetz Nearly Died After Being Strangled
The actress also remembered an episode in which she almost died in October 2016. Carruth was unhappy because Seimetz was working on a project in New York City and had gone out to supper with her colleagues. Her ex-partner locked her out of her hotel room, and when the director allowed her back in, he became “out of control,” calling her a “whore and using other profanities while chasing her around the hotel room.”
When Seimetz’s mother called, the director tossed her mobile phone across the room and smashed it. He then sprang on top of the actress and strangled her.
“I was afraid Mr. Carruth would murder me and attempted to urge him to stop.” Mr. Carruth eventually stopped strangling me as I struggled to breathe,” Seimetz said in her petition. “
The abuse became more severe after this episode. Carruth used to shout at her, insult her, and send her “abusive and harassing text messages and emails.” The physical violence persisted, leaving her with marks on her body, and the actress attempted to terminate the relationship many times. She would, however, return to her old lover anytime he begged her to since he had left her fearing he would commit himself.
With her new film SHE DIES TOMORROW now playing and her debut feature SUN DON’T SHINE streaming on @criterionchannl, filmmaker and actor @amy_seimetz shares her Criterion Top 10! https://t.co/mxqix3qjql pic.twitter.com/kzWz7E4Zxb
— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) September 4, 2020
Shane Carruth is charged with domestic violence.
Seimetz ultimately received a restraining order against Carruth in August 2018, but it didn’t stop him from threatening her. These threats persisted throughout 2020, becoming “much more severe,” prompting her to request the restraining order in July 2020. In reaction to the filing, Carruth told People that he would share his side of the story soon, not because he wanted to, but because he was pressured.
It is unknown if the filmmaker has given his side of the tale, but he was arrested in Los Angeles in January 2022 on a domestic assault allegation. Carruth was arrested at his ex-house, and girlfriend’s according to Variety. According to accounts, police were called to the woman’s house at 4:50 a.m., but by the time they arrived, Carruth had already escaped. After Carruth went home, the ex-girlfriend contacted the police again at about 6:50 a.m. The filmmaker was discovered nearby and detained “on suspicion of domestic abuse and mischief.”
