Woman details how late "It" star James Ransone saved her from sexual assault: 'So grateful that this man existed' Wesley StenzelDecember 24, 2025 at 2:06 AM 0 Jon Kopaloff/Getty James Ransone in Los Angeles on June 20, 2019Key points Molly Watts remembered how James Ransone saved her from a sexual assault. The actor's former neighbor said that Ransone "came running shirtless, carrying a bat or pipe" to scare off the assailant. Watts said, "I'm not sure if I would have the same life if he hadn't run down that night.
- - Woman details how late "It" star James Ransone saved her from sexual assault: 'So grateful that this man existed'
Wesley StenzelDecember 24, 2025 at 2:06 AM
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Jon Kopaloff/Getty
James Ransone in Los Angeles on June 20, 2019Key points -
Molly Watts remembered how James Ransone saved her from a sexual assault.
The actor's former neighbor said that Ransone "came running shirtless, carrying a bat or pipe" to scare off the assailant.
Watts said, "I'm not sure if I would have the same life if he hadn't run down that night."
A woman is reflecting on how James Ransone saved her from a traumatic incident.
Molly Watts posted a heartfelt tribute to the late Wire actor, who died by suicide at 46 on Friday, on Instagram on Monday, explaining how Ransone fended off an assailant outside their apartment building.
"I'm usually private but I want to publicly say I am so grateful that this man existed and don't know if the trajectory of my life would be the same if he hadn't," Watts said.
Gary Gershoff/WireImage
James Ransone in New York City on Oct. 12, 2018
Ransone's former acquaintance said that she was neighbors with the actor in Chinatown in New York with "friendly, overlapping social circles" at the time of the incident.
"I was attacked at the threshold of our building," she recalled. "I screamed for help. No one came. My attacker put his hands around my throat so I would stop making noise. I couldn't breathe. I remember the certainty that I was going to die or be raped as I was choked unconscious."
Watts said that Ransone, who also went by the nickname PJ, rushed to her assistance. "PJ heard my screams and ran to help," she explained. "He came running shirtless, carrying a bat or pipe — I'm not sure which, because I never saw him in action. He scared my attacker, who ran. PJ chased him to the building he fled to."
Ransone's former neighbor said that the It Chapter Two actor's actions helped law enforcement as they investigated the attack. "Because of the chase, the police were able to identify him, a repeat sexual offender," she said. "PJ saved me."
Watts reflected on the lasting impact of Ransone's heroism. "I'm not sure if I would have the same life if he hadn't run down that night," she said. "Even as an adult, I'm not sure how I would have handled the weight of what could have happened or how long it would take to heal — I was already emotionally fragile."
She also noted that Ransone previously alleged that he was the victim of sexual assault as a child. "What's especially hard for me with PJ's passing is that he lived with that kind of violence," Watts wrote. "What I was spared, he endured in a different form, at an age where there is no emotional defense, and the self is still forming. I get the sense that PJ's life was haunted by what happened to him then. This world is rarely gentle to people who are hurt, vulnerable, acting out."
Watts said that she wishes she had reiterated her gratitude toward Ransone before his death. "Over the years, I have thought of PJ from time to time," she said. "I wanted to reach out to him to let him know how grateful I was that he ran towards my screams. I didn't. I regret that."
She also shared a link to a GoFundMe campaign for Ransone's family, which was created to help the actor's wife, son, and daughter in the wake of his death.
Eric Charbonneau/Getty
James Ransone in Los Angeles on Aug. 26, 2019
Ransone publicly discussed the incident in a 2016 interview with the Jim & Sam Show. "I was watching TV with my then-girlfriend at the time. I was in just pajama bottoms," he said. "And I hear this scream for help, right? I hear this commotion downstairs, and I ran down. It was at the landing of the stairs…in the hallway vestibule between the doors, I could see my upstairs neighbor pinned down, face up."
Ransone said he told his girlfriend to call the police and lock herself in his apartment. "The guy has left, and I grab a metal pipe," he explained. "I hit him with this metal bar, and he fights me, and he takes off running, and I go after him. He bolts into some housing complex."
The actor said that eventually, the police arrived and arrested the assailant a couple hours later. "I had to go pick him out of a lineup, and then testify against him in court. I don't know what ended up happening."
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Ransone's wife, Jamie McPhee, recently remembered her husband in a bittersweet Instagram post. "I told you I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again," she wrote in her caption. "You told me - I need to be more like you and you need to be more like me - and you were so right."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance misuse, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
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Source: Entertainment
Published: December 24, 2025 at 06:00AM on Source: ANDY MAG
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