On June 21, 2006, a gay screenwriter in his thirties working his way through the film industry landed an invitation to the after-party for the Los Angeles premiere of director Bryan Singer’s film Superman Returns. “It started at like 1 a.m.,” he told BuzzFeed. “It was super crowded. Someone told me to stick around as late as I could because after most of the guests leave, the scene in the pool ‘gets freaky.’ There were a lot of twinks inside, just hanging out, and all of them were white. I wandered into what seemed like a screening room or TV room. There was a PlayStation set up, and a blond twink in a tank top who looked like he was 16 was sitting on the floor alone eating fried chicken straight from a KFC bucket. More white twinks showed up. I felt old and gross, so I left.”

In the wake of the lawsuit alleging Singer sexually assaulted a minor in 1999, these are the kinds of stories that keep surfacing about the filmmaker’s private world of gay Hollywood parties and the friends who scout young men to go to them. To gain a better understanding of what has actually happened at the frequent parties Singer has hosted and attended, BuzzFeed has spoken with six people who have gone to them, including one friend who said he helps introduce Singer to younger men the director would otherwise be too “shy” to meet. These sources provided a stark portrait of an entrenched system, facilitated by these scouts, who bring Singer into regular orbit with 18- to 20-year-olds at parties sustained by large amounts of alcohol and drugs — edging precariously close to the line between legality and illegality. (That said, the enormous and understandable curiosity about them can curdle quickly into a kind of homophobic shaming, fixating on the worst stereotypes of gay men as lasciviously exploiting the young and impressionable.)

To be clear: The lawsuit is just a week old, and its claims are still very much in dispute — Singer's lawyer has called them "complete fabrications," and said he has evidence that places the filmmaker in Canada when the suit alleges he was in Hawaii. Meanwhile, the lawyer for plaintiff Michael Egan told The Hollywood Reporter that he has witnesses who will place Singer in Hawaii at the time of the allegations, and on Monday filed a new suit alleging that three more Hollywood executives, Garth Ancier, David Neuman, and Gary Goddard, sexually abused Egan — including at least one other associate of Singer’s. (Ancier, Neuman, and Goddard have all denied the charges.)

When reached by BuzzFeed, a rep for Bryan Singer had no comment for this story beyond the most recent statement from the filmmaker’s lawyer regarding Egan's lawsuit. “The minute I learned of Michael Egan’s allegations I thought they were fabricated because I knew that Bryan was shooting a movie out of the country during the period of time alleged in the complaint," said attorney Martin Singer (no relation). "Based on concrete and indisputable evidence, we will prove that Egan’s claims about Bryan are entirely made up.”