Michael Ward had an emotional church visit after being found not guilty on charges of rape and sexual assault last week.
As shown in the TikTok below, the British actor, who starred in Top Boy, The Book of Clarence and Eddington, attended church after the court’s decision was made on Friday (July 10). “Freedom is a must!” an onlooker repeats while the actor tearfully enters the church. A chorus of attendees cheer for the 28-year-old, who’s shown embracing a woman by the video’s end.
Last year, Ward was accused of raping a woman in the back of a vehicle after meeting her at a party in London in January 2023. As reported by BBC News, Ward called the encounter “wholly consensual” and testified that he believed there was mutual interest between him and the woman. The actor received five charges ahead of the ten-day trial: two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.
According to The Guardian, Ward testified that the woman, who, for legal reasons, cannot be publicly named, had been “a willing participant in everything that was going on.” His former Top Boy co-star, Jasmine Jobson, supported Ward as a character witness, calling him a “beautiful soul” and “kind-hearted man.”
Ward won the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2020 and received a BAFTA supporting actor nomination for Empire of Light in 2023. The entertainer most recently appeared in Ari Aster's Eddington, which debuted theatrically in July 2025. Following the charges, Ward was dropped by UK agency Olivia Bell Management but retained U.S. representation through CAA.
