A GTA dance troupe rose to fame on ‘Canada’s Got Talent.’ Behind the scenes, dancers say their leader was abusing his power to get some of them to sleep with him

Members of a popular GTA dance troupe allege the leader abused his power when he cultivated romantic and sexual relationships with them.

The allegations against choreographer Xavier Tu first surfaced on Instagram in September, when 11 members of the Renegades dance crew said in a post that they were publicly disassociating from their leader and employer.

Within two weeks, Tu sued 11 of his former dancers for more than $1 million, claiming the post and private Instagram messages defamed him. He alleges that after the breakup of his relationship with one of the Renegades, Ireland Byrne, the 11 dancers embarked on a libellous conspiracy" to cancel" him.

Byrne is the only dancer who has so far filed a statement of defence. In it, she alleges Tu was in multiple intimate relationships with female members of the Renegades, and used his power and authority to coerce, manipulate, isolate and emotionally torment them."

Byrne rejects Tu's claim that she is a jilted lover. She says she was 14 years old when Tu recruited her, and was 19 when he allegedly forced his way into her bed.

None of the allegations has been proven and no trial date has been set.

Renegades rose to fame on Canada's Got Talent"

The allegations are a tumultuous unravelling of the Renegades, who were seen as a rising star in the country's hip-hop dance community.

To outsiders, the Renegades are best known for placing third on the 2022 season of the TV show Canada's Got Talent." The dancers impressed the judges so much that they immediately qualified for the semifinals.

In his statement of claim, Tu, 28, said he is being unfairly characterized as an individual who is guilty of sexual impropriety, including sexual acts without consent" - mistruths he says have cost him numerous lucrative contractual opportunities."

In a statement to the Star, Tu said the allegations against him are false, and the end of his relationship with Byrne hurt both of them.

I am sorry that the end of the relationship has caused her upset and take responsibility for that," said the statement, sent through his lawyer.

Tu has also asked for an injunction that would prevent Byrne and others from making any allegedly defamatory statements about Tu. Meanwhile, Byrne has filed a motion seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, accusing Tu of abusing the courts to try to silence her and her fellow dancers.

Choreographer allegedly forced his way into dancer's bed

In her statement of defence, Byrne, now 20, said Tu became her mentor, then her boss on the Renegades crew.

She says in September 2021 he professed he had feelings for her. She says she told him she also had feelings for him but would not act" on them because she remained his student and he already had a girlfriend.

Over the ensuing weeks, she alleges he pressured her to become sexually intimate while they were training to appear on Canada's Got Talent."

Byrne said while on a Renegades work trip to Vancouver in late October 2021, Tu entered the Airbnb room they were sharing and locked the door. Instead of going to his pullout couch, he got into her bed and started to kiss her, she alleges.

Byrne said she was intoxicated and told Tu no" and that she did not want this to happen."

Byrne said Tu told her that he could not control himself. Byrne said she understood this to mean he couldn't control how much he cared about her. Inside the bedroom, she alleges Tu became more aggressive and pressured her to engage in more sexual acts.

She was afraid of the other crew members in the adjacent room finding out. She did not cry for help, and she tried not to make a noise," Byrne's statement of defence reads.

Ms. Byrne eventually stopped resisting."

Byrne blamed herself for allowing Tu's advances, and she was torn between romantic feelings she had for her mentor and how a relationship may impact the Renegades, her statement of defence reads.

Relationship kept secret, court filing alleges

By January 2022, Tu and Byrne had become romantic partners. In her statement of defence, Byrne says Tu - who was seven years older than her - instructed her to keep their relationship a secret from her peers and parents because no one would accept the age gap between them or the nature of his relationship as her teacher and boss." She said that Tu told her he was worried her parents would think he was a predator.

During their nine-month relationship, Tu gradually isolated Byrne from her dance peers while imploring her in private for choreography suggestions, she alleges. Byrne said she later learned that Tu would mock her to other Renegades members, claiming she was obsessed with him."

Byrne said the emotional distress this caused her often brought her to tears, leading to panic attacks, hair loss, dropping university courses and rejecting dance-related work.

In August, their relationship became known to two senior Renegades members. Tu wept and told her his career was over, Byrne said. She said he also told her he had been sexually intimate with another crew member during their relationship.

Byrne said she ended their relationship. She said she learned Tu had allegedly been sexually involved with at least three" other Renegades dancers.

Tu did not respond to a question from the Star about Byrne's claim in her court filing that he had sexual relationships with multiple troupe members.

Tu alleges dancers conspired to cancel' him

According to the statement of defence, Tu allegedly messaged the Renegades group chat on Aug. 18, saying: I have not been the leader that I have set out to be and the one that you have come to expect over the last few years, and I need to own up to the mistakes that I've made. I write this not to seek instant forgiveness, but to express my heartbreak and regret over my actions, and to denote the beginning of my journey to being a better human being.

I did everyone wrong by acting carelessly and selfishly. I am working to do better."

The Star has not seen original copies of those alleged messages.

While Tu was privately showing contrition, he was publicly disparaging the dancers, Byrne alleges.

She alleges he spread damaging misinformation about the reason the Renegades had broken away from him." He threatened to sue crew members if they tried to continue dancing in any Renegades-related events or if they told people about his actions in the past year," her court filing reads.

Concerned that Tu was professionally marginalizing them, and worried that he might use similar tactics on other young dancers, Byrne and 10 others turned to social media, Byrne's statement of defence said.

In a 73-word public post, the dancers announced they can no longer affiliate ourselves with Xavier Tu and his brand, nor condone his actions."

The post spurred a flurry within the dance community, and people reached out with questions. Byrne said she responded to five people through direct messages and wrote that Tu was in multiple intimate relationships with female members of the Renegades, and used his power and authority to coerce, manipulate, isolate and emotionally torment them."

Tu references this message as part of his defamation lawsuit.

A few days after the Sept. 2 post, Tu's lawyer sent a letter to the 11 dancers demanding they delete the post and publicly apologize.

A week later, he filed his lawsuit, which seeks $1 million in damages for libel and an additional $250,000 for punitive damages.

The dancers removed the post because they were spooked by Tu's legal threats, said Byrne's lawyers. But they say they will not back down to Tu's lawsuit.

We will fight to ensure they are not silenced," said the dancer's lawyers William C. McDowell and Derek Knoke in a statement to the Star.

Morgan Bocknek is Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @mobocks