The Arizona Coyotes have canceled former Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee’s appearance days after he was accused of sexual assault.
The comic book legend, 95, was scheduled to drop the first puck in Friday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, but will no longer make an appearance after a mutual decision, AZCentral reported.
Lee, a native New Yorker, is in town for Ace Comic Con taking place in Glendale this weekend and is still expected to appear on a panel on both days.
Earlier this week DailyMail.com revealed Lee had been accused of masturbating in front of a female masseuse at a Chicago hotel after groping the woman and demanding sex.
Lee carried out the sex assault after booking massage therapy in his hotel suite in April of last year, it is claimed.
Lee attended The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) on April 21-23 which is when the alleged attack is believed to have happened.
Lee is the former president and chairman of Marvel and co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, Hulk among many other beloved comic book heroes.
He has a personal fortune estimated at $50 million and the Marvel franchise has made $23 billion at the box office.
Earlier this week DailyMail.com revealed Lee had been accused of masturbating in front of a female masseuse at a Chicago hotel after groping the woman and demanding sex
The Arizona Coyotes canceled Lee’s ceremonial puck drop scheduled for Friday’s game days after the allegations surfaced
Fortune: Stan Lee’s personal fortune is estimated at $50 million after a lifetime of involvement in the Marvel empire. He personally co-created Spider Man and the X-Men, which have gone on to help the total take of movies Marvel has franchised equal $23 billion and counting
DailyMail.com understands that the masseuse has made a legal complaint and lawyers representing Marvel and Lee’s company POW! Entertainment have held high level meetings about the incident and are in contact with the alleged victim.
But Lee’s attorney Tom Lallas told DailyMail.com that the star ‘categorically denies’ the allegations that he attacked the masseuse and insists they are part of ‘another’ shake down for money. He does not deny having contact with the woman.
On Tuesday DailyMail.com revealed that Lee has been hit with several other allegations of sexual assault and harassment by nurses caring for him at his Hollywood Hills home.
Lee is alleged to have repeatedly groped and harassed a string of young female nurses employed to care for him – allegations he also vehemently denies.
Lee is the former president and chairman of Marvel and co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, The Incredible Hulk among many other beloved comic book heroes.
Marvel is the highest grossing movie franchise in history having raked in $23billion at the box office and Lee as an executive producer boasts a personal fortune of around $50 million.
Lee is a regular on the comic-con circuit, traveling all over the world to spend time with fans and sign autographs.
Fans queue for hours to meet the icon in person and hear him speak.
The writer seemed relaxed in a YouTube video of a Q&A session in front of fans at the C2E2 expo he attended.
With his new nurses: Stan Lee was photographed with an assistant and a medical worker leaving a clinic earlier this month in Beverly Hills. But other nurses who worked for a previous company and who DailyMail.com is not naming or photographing, say he groped them and asked for oral sex in the shower
It’s not clear at which hotel Lee was staying during the event, but his accommodation is typically paid for by event organizers.
He traveled to Chicago with his minder and road manager Max Anderson, who has a felony conviction for beating and injuring his wife and was also found guilty of beating his son.
A source with knowledge of the allegations told DailyMail.com: ‘The woman claims Stan’s manager Max arranged for the massage in his hotel room and when she arrived they were both intoxicated.
‘She claims Stan was out of control, he groped her and asked her for sex which the woman refused.
‘He then started to masturbate while she was massaging him. She made a complaint to his people and apparently has demanded money, there’s been a lot of meetings about it behind the scenes.’
Comic book staple: Stan Lee went from a stellar career taking Marvel from a minor publisher to to the biggest name in comic books and for decades has been a fixture at comic book conventions, appearing last weekend at Wizard World Comic Con in New Orleans
Widower: Stan Lee’s wife Joan died in July 2017 after 70 years of marriage.
Film franchises: The Marvel franchises, including X-Men and Spider Man have now topped $23 billion in box office takings
The source added: ‘While people might think Stan is a frail and fragile old man, that’s not the case.
‘He’s very strong for his age and still has his wits about him, this kind of behavior has been going on for years and the incident with the masseuse was before his wife died. His age is no excuse.’
Lee is currently developing movie and TV projects with his company POW! Entertainment and holds the title Chairman Emeritus of Marvel.
The allegation is the latest to hit Lee and comes after DailyMail.com revealed he as been hit with several allegations of sexual assault and harassment by nurses caring for him at his Hollywood Hills home.
He is said to have asked for oral sex in the shower, walked around naked and wanted to be ‘pleasured’ in the bedroom.
The nursing company which employs the women and caters for celebrities and high end clients is now in a legal dispute with Lee.
But as yet no police complaint has been made and no lawsuits filed.
In a statement his lawyer Lallas confirmed the latest allegations to emerge, telling DailyMail.com: ‘Mr Lee categorically denies these allegations and he fully intends to fight to protect his stellar good name and impeccable character.
‘Mr Lee has not offered any money to settle this claim, and no negotiations have ever occurred regarding any payment to this accuser.
‘This accusation is another example of a demand that Mr Lee has received to pay money and threat that if he does not do so, the accuser will hold a press conference and go to the media.
‘Mr Lee will not be extorted or blackmailed, and will pay no money to anyone because he has done absolutely nothing wrong.’
Shane Duffy, CEO of Lee’s company POW! Entertainment, said: ‘At POW! Entertainment it’s our policy to not comment on personal issues relating to Stan Lee and his life.’
Lallas had previously said that the allegations Lee had repeatedly groped and harassed a string of young female nurses employed to care for him were also a shake-down.