A woman that James Ransone once saved from sexual assault is speaking out following the actor’s tragic death earlier this month.
Molly Watts took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal that the late “Wire” star, who died by suicide on Dec. 19 at the age of 46, came to her rescue during a traumatic incident back in 2006.
“I found out yesterday that James Ransone died,” she began alongside a photo of the beloved actor. “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 wrote that she and Ransone were neighbors in New York City’s Chinatown nearly 20 years ago when she was “attacked at the threshold of our building” and “screamed for help.”
“My attacker put his hands around my throat so I would stop making noise,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe. I remember the certainty that I was going to die or be raped as I was choked unconscious.”
But moments later, the “It Chapter Two” star – whom Watts referred to by his nickname, PJ – suddenly appeared and saved Watts from her attacker.
James Ransone during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 23, 2015. Getty Images
Ransone at the premiere of “It Chapter Two” in Westwood, California, on Aug. 26, 2019. AFP via Getty Images
“PJ heard my screams and ran to help. He came running shirtless, carrying a bat or pipe,” she shared. “He scared my attacker, who ran.”
Although the assailant fled the scene, Ransone reportedly chased him down.
“PJ chased him to the building he fled to,” Watts continued. “Because of the chase, the police were able to identify him, a repeat sexual offender.”
Ransone discusses a film at AOL HQ in New York City on Oct. 17, 2016. FilmMagic
Ransone as Juice and Sam Richardson as Kendall Hines in “Poker Face.” Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK via Getty Images
“PJ saved me,” she added. “I’m not sure if I would have the same life if he hadn’t run down that night. 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.”
Ransone, meanwhile, recalled the shocking incident himself years later during an appearance on the “Jim and Sam Show” in 2016.
Although the “Poker Face” actor downplayed his heroic actions, he did recount the event and how it unfolded from his perspective.
Ransone during the premiere of “Annabelle Comes Home” in Westwood, California, on June 20, 2019. Getty Images,
“I was watching TV with my then-girlfriend at the time,” he shared at the time. “I was in just pajama bottoms.