BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Budapest Operetta Theater says it has dismissed its artistic director after an actor said he was beaten by him with a coat hanger in 1994.

Miklos Gabor Kerenyi posted an apology Tuesday on his Facebook page and didn't deny the allegations.

Actor Akos Maros said on ATV television that after he was late to a rehearsal, Kerenyi locked him in a room, told him to pull down his pants and beat him on the buttocks with a coat hanger. Maros was 18 years old then.

Kerenyi is the second renowned theater director to be dismissed in Hungary recently because of allegations of abuse or sexual harassment.

Laszlo Marton was fired late October by the Comedy Theater after actress Lilla Sarosdi accused him of sexual harassment. Marton also apologized.