Author Colleen Hoover Addressed the Harassment Allegations Against Her Son to Clear His Name

Content warning: This article contains discussions of sexual harassment.

As a prolific writer and arguable BookTok Queen, Colleen Hoover is best known for her books, notably, It Ends With Us, which was adapted into a movie releasing in theaters on Aug. 9, 2024, Ugly Love, and Verity. When she's not dominating bestseller lists or churning out more romance novels, she's also a mother of three. Colleen shares three sons with her husband Heath: Cale, Levi, and Beckham.

Colleen's son Levi came into the public eye in 2022 after sexual harassment allegations surfaced against him on social media. Colleeen addressed the allegations in a private Facebook group to clear the air.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about Colleen Hoover's son and the accusations against him.

In an initial tweet on Feb. 12, 2022, which has since been deleted, a Twitter user with the handle @theonottlovebot contributed to a thread against Colleen Hoover, writing, "Her son also sexually harassed me and she blocked me when i spoke up about it to her."

In a second tweet, she elaborated, saying, "Long story short, we were friends on [Snapchat] and s--t and like every day we would message cause we're friends right and like this was when I was 16 and he was fully aware of how old I was I was cause I always talked about the fact I was still in school."

She also provided now-deleted screenshots with evidence that she had messaged Colleen Hoover on Instagram explaining the situation and proof she was friends with Levi, Colleen's son, with screenshots of his Snapchat handle.

Quickly, the tweets went viral, being cross-posted to Reddit and TikTok. At the time of the purported harassment, Levi was an adult at 21 years old, and the accuser claims to have been 16, which would make her a minor. In 2021, Colleen celebrated Levi's birthday with a post on Instagram, confirming his age as 21. He'll turn 24 at the end of 2024.

Four months after the initial accusation circulated, some users on social media called for a boycott of Colleen's books, especially because there have been additional allegations that her books "glorify" abuse.

On Nov. 18, 2022, Hoover posted a statement addressing the allegations in a private Facebook group called Colleen Hoover's CoHorts.

In the statement, she clarified, "Things being said about my son aren't accurate. People are commenting that I blocked a girl for informing me that my son sexually assaulted her when she was sixteen. This absolutely did not happen, and this is not even initially what was said by this person."

She continued, "My son and a girl were online friends for several months. They never met in person. He said something to her in a message that made her uncomfortable (he asked her to send him a pic), so she messaged me about it. I did not read this message, but she thought I did, and it understandably upset her that I didn't respond. She then posted on Twitter that my son asked her for a pic. AS SOON as I found out about this months ago, I reached out to her."

Colleen added, "We discussed what happened, I apologized to her and thanked her for bringing this to my attention, and I offered to send her our home address and lawyer info should she want it. I held my son accountable for sending a message to her that was inappropriate. I addressed it directly with her and with my son."

The Slammed author also clarified, "I didn't address it publicly because 1) I feel it's not my place to talk about someone else's experience and 2) everyone who knows me here has seen me parent these boys and hold them accountable. I'm sad this happened. You guys know I've tried my best to raise my children with respect, and to show respect."

Hopefully, with Colleen Hoover having given her insight on the situation, the internet rumors will subside once and for all.

Catch the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us in theaters on Aug. 9, 2024, starring Blake Lively, Brandon Sklenar, and Justin Baldoni.