A new report investigating Ezra Miller’s recent controversies, arrests and legal issues has alleged that the actor believed they were a “Messiah”, “recruited” young people into their circle and “verbally and emotionally abused those around them”.

The report, published by Vanity Fair on September 18, comes after Miller apologised for their “past behavior” in August. The actor disclosed that they had begun treatment for “complex mental health issues” and was “committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life”.

For the report, journalists Julie Miller, Anthony Breznican and Savannah Walsh spoke to more than a dozen people currently and formerly affiliated with Miller, including spokespeople, colleagues and ex-partners. The report notes that most of those interviewed described Miller’s streak of controversial incidents as “a conflagration of the mental health issues the actor has acknowledged, along with drugs, guns, and outlandish claims”.

It’s claimed that Miller’s spiral began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when production on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (which stars Miller in a key role) was halted. A source close to Miller claimed that they began acting impulsively, booking a trip to Iceland where they’d be accused of drunkenly choking strangers on two separate occasions.

Three people claimed to the publication that Miller’s first outbursts – both of which allegedly happened in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik – were fuelled by the emotional stress the actor felt in the wake of their parents’ divorce. A spokesperson for the actor, however, said the divorce was not a contributing factor to their spiral, instead citing “a combination of complex, stress-related issues”.

During their stint in Iceland, Miller reportedly hired a spiritual adviser – a medicine man from North Dakota –who is said to have told the actor “that [they were] the next Messiah and that the Freemasons were sending demons out to kill [them]”.

Another source claimed to the publication that Miller had become “increasingly narcissistic” throughout that period of time, and often gravitated towards young people because they were “more malleable”. That source is quoted as saying: “[They’d] talk about the metaverse and the medicine and how they’re the Messiah and what [their] work is here.

“They say their spiritual practice is to be among the people – which means party. So, when in Iceland, [they were] out nonstop. [Their] favorite were raves, where [they’d] go on benders for two or three days at a time.”

Another source claimed Miller tended to “recruit” young followers into their circle “in a period of vulnerability”, luring them in with lucrative offers – such as of joining Miller’s band and Miller producing an album for them – that “[n]ever seemed to materialise”.

Miller became embroiled in a string of controversies across 2022. In January, they made headlines due to a bizarre Instagram video threatening members of the Ku Klux Klan in Beulaville, North Carolina. The Vanity Fair report ties this incident to a troubling obsession with guns that Miller allegedly developed in recent years. One source reportedly told the publication of an occasion where Miller “burn[ed] sage out of the barrel of an AR15 and wav[ed] it around while singing”.

Following their KKK video, Miller is said to have become paranoid around those close to them, with some friends having locked their firearms away in a safe out of concern for the actor. One that Vanity Fair spoke to alleged they’d walked in on Miller brandishing a bow and arrow they’d acquired on a film set.

Two months later, during a trip to Hawaii, Miller was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment, following an incident in a bar where they allegedly became “agitated” and began “yelling obscenities”. In April, during the same trip, they were arrested for a second time after allegedly throwing a chair at a woman.

During this time, Miller is said to have appeared “emaciated and unshowered, subsisting on energy drinks spiked with rum, gas-station snacks, and ‘medicine’”, with one source claiming to Vanity Fair that Miller would use the term “medicine” as “a code word for whatever drug they’re deciding is medicine that week”.

It’s reported that Miller was accompanied in Hawaii by an environmental activist, with an alleged witness saying the actor was “intensely controlling” towards the 18-year-old. In June, the activist’s parents filed a protective order against Miller, claiming they “use[d] violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions, and drugs to hold sway over” her as “a young adolescent” (it’s reported that Miller first met the activist when the latter was aged 12). The order was granted, though the court was unable to locate Miller. In August, the activist gave an interview denying that Miller had ever groomed or abused her.

Also in Hawaii, it’s reported that Miller and the activist became involved with a polygamous family, with whom they stayed for about two weeks. The pair are said to have left spontaneously, and took with them one of the wives in the polycule as well as her three children. Miller reportedly housed the woman and her children at their Vermont residence, where police attempted to serve an emergency care order to her in August. The mother and her children were missing, however, with allegations made that Miller was “shielding” their whereabouts.

Prior to that, Miller had been served with another order of protection, filed against them by a mother and her 12-year-old child. The latter claimed that they were made to feel “really uncomfortable” by Miller and that they were “scared to be around them”. A representative of Miller’s denied those allegations, telling Vanity Fair: “Ezra’s lack of interest clearly upset a disappointed fan when they would not engage with the fan or her daughter.”

Before sharing their apologetic statement in August, Miller was charged with felony burglary for allegedly breaking into a house and stealing alcohol. The same month, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed that Miller’s next film, The Flash, will be released in June 2023 despite Miller’s controversies and legal troubles.

In June, it was reported that Zaslav was facing a “crisis” over how to handle the bad press surrounding Miller, and that it was likely they would not keep their role in future DC films following The Flash. The Vanity Fair report notes that The Flash is a particularly personal role for Miller, with the actor reportedly decorating their Vermont residence with “an altar that’s home to bullets, weed, sage, and Flash figurines”.

One source claimed to the publication that Miller deified their character, “claiming that the Flash is the one who brings the multiverses together just like Jesus”. A representative for Miller said the actor was spurred to address their mental health issues after Warner Bros. initiated meetings to discuss Miller’s future in the role. “The notion that The Flash was at risk was a wake-up call,” the rep said.