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T.J. Miller is the latest actor to be accused of sexual misconduct. On Tuesday, December 19, the Daily Beast ran a story in which an anonymous woman claimed that the actor “hit and sexually assaulted her while in college.”
“He just tried a lot of things without asking me, and at no point asked me if I was all right. He choke[d] me, and I kept staring at his face hoping he would see that I was afraid and [that he] would stop… I couldn’t say anything,” the woman told the Daily Beast in part.
Miller is married to, Kate Gorney, a former ballet dancer turned actress, artist, and poet. Her mom is a poet and her dad is a former priest. When she was quite young, she began “equestrian training, acting, dancing, and singing,” according to the biography section of her IMDb page. She was also trained in classical ballet and was part of the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet Company in Michigan.
She married Miller in Colorado in 2015. The couple does not have any children together.
Here is what you need to know:
1. She & Her Husband Released a Statement in Response to the Sexual Misconduct Claims
Miller’s accuser went on to detail some additional abuse that she claims she endured during her relationship with the Silicon Valley star. She made mention of another specific instance in which she claims Miller “[shook her] violently” and “punched [her] in the mouth during sex.”
Before running the story, the Daily Beast reached out to the Millers for comment. The couple decided to release a joint statement on the matter.
“[Woman’s name] began again to circulate rumors online once [my and Kate’s] relationship became public. Sadly she is now using the current climate to bandwagon and launch these false accusations again. It is unfortunate that she is choosing this route as it undermines the important movement to make women feel safe coming forward about legitimate claims against real known predators,” Kate and T.J. Miller wrote.
2. She Met Miller in College & Married Him in an Art-Deco Inspired Wedding
Gorney spent a few years of her life living and studying abroad. She spent a great deal of time in Europe before she was accepted to George Washington University in Washington D.C. She earned the Women in Power Scholarship in the Women in the Arts program. She graduated with a degree in liberal arts.
Her now-husband also attended George Washington University. The two began dating after they met while working on the university’s production of A Chorus Line.
It didn’t take long for Gorney and Miller to fall in love. Years later, Miller decided that it was time to take the next step in his relationship.
He proposed to his lady love in the sculpture garden at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Apparently nervous, Miller ended up injuring his knee when went to propose, hitting it fairly hard on the ground below. Once she said yes, Miller had truffle fries, balloons, and cupcakes brought to the table, according to Town & Country. He also arranged for the couple’s song, “Point of View” by DB Boulevard, to play. You can watch Miller talk about the proposal with Conan O’Brien in the video below.
Gorney and Miller tied the knot on September 6, 2015, in front of 125 guests. Gorney wore a strapless gown designed by Johanna Johnson. Gorney also followed the “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” tradition.
“Old: A pair of vintage rhinestone earrings and framed photographs on the bride’s bouquet of her grandmothers; New: Valentino heels. Borrowed: A brooch from the groom’s mother; Blue: Blue Swarovski crystal sewn into the bride’s dress.”
3. She Has Been in Several Movies & Television Shows & Goes By the Alias ‘Rose Petal Pistol’
Although Gorney spends much of her time focusing on art, she has also been in several movies and television shows over the years. One of the very first films she did was called Tattoo, a Love Story, which was released back in 2002.
In 2009, Gorney earned herself a recurring role as the Bleecker Inn Barista on Gossip Girl. She has done a few shorts, and recently landed a role in The Emoji Movie. Gorney lended her voice to the film, giving life to “Heart Eyes.” This was the first film that she worked on with her husband (Miller voiced Gene).
You can watch The Emoji Movie trailer below.
Gorney often goes by the alias, Rose Petal Pistol. According to her website, “rose” represents art, “petal” represents poetry, and “pistol” represents performance.
“A french painter once set out to make a self portrait, it turned out to be a vase of Chrysanthemums. Mine is a rosepetalpistol. I make art, I do poetry, I perform. The mediums change. The sentiment is the same. I believe awareness of life’s troubles brings deeper appreciation of beauty. And that fragility and strength travel together down the same barrel…Fire,” reads the “about” section of her website.
4. She Was Previously in an Abusive Relationship
Gorney knows about being in an emotionally abusive relationship first-hand because it’s something that she unfortunately experienced whilst in college. The relationship occurred while Gorney was on a break from Miller. Gorney dated a man who was controlling and possessive.
“After four years she discovered he had installed spyware on her phone and computer, tracking her keystrokes, browser history, location, and intercepting her e-mails. He logged her previous relationships on his phone in a folder called ‘Kate,'” Vanity Fair reported.
Earlier this year, Gorney unveiled her latest art exhibit. “Once Broken” debuted in a gallery in Greenwich Village a few months ago, viewable by appointment only. According to Vanity Fair, “Once Broken” “[included] a book of 29 poems, full of textures like vellum paper and braille, as well as video art and set design.”
Gorney wanted to showcase this exhibit as a way to let others know that “it’s O.K. to be once broken.”
5. She Is a Feminist & Doesn’t Want to Be Defined By Her Significant Other
Gorney has been very candid when it comes to her views as a feminist. It’s something that is in her genes, as she says that both her mother and her grandmother were feminists.
In a guest post for Refinery 29, Gorney wrote about being her own person and wanting to be recognized for her own accomplishments, rather than constantly being referred to as simply, “T.J. Miller’s wife.”
You can read a portion of her post below.
“Last month, an ironic (and since updated) New York Post headline about my art installation went viral: ‘T.J. Miller’s wife is making a name for herself in New York.’ While I know that it was meant it to be flattering — and I was flattered by the coverage — not everyone on Twitter took it that way. Suddenly tens of thousands of retweets, likes, and comments turned into hundreds of thousands. Many people didn’t appreciate the irony and saw it as an opportunity to start a meaningful dialogue about feminism. I was both overwhelmed by and grateful for the outpouring of support in response to something that had become so normalized for me — the idea that many women are seen as nothing more than their husband’s wife. It made me think about representations of married women in the press, and how many people share my experience of being defined only in relationship to their significant other.”
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Kate Gorney, T.J. Miller’s Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know