'Cheer' star Gabi Butler says she doesn't hate former teammate Jerry Harris: 'I can't turn my back on him'

• On "Cheer," Jerry Harris' former teammates reflected on his sexual abuse allegations.
• "I can't turn my back on him," Gabi Butler said.

"Cheer" season two devotes an episode titled "Jerry" to examining the impact of the sexual abuse allegations against former Navarro cheerleader Jerry Harris through multiple perspectives. This includes speaking with his former teammates about how the news of his alleged behavior affected them.

Gabi Butler — a breakout star of season one — had a surprising answer. "I can't turn my back on him," she tearfully told the cameras. "Because he was there for me when I needed it."

Butler was clear that she knows Harris' alleged behavior is wrong. "I don't agree with what he was accused of or condone it at all, and it is very unfortunate and it breaks my heart," she said. "But it's literally like your family. How are you gonna just hate your family?"

The cheerleader said she feels pressure from unnamed people to "hate him" and "never speak to him again." Through tears, Butler confessed, "But the thing is, I can't."

Other former teammates of Harris said on the show they wish they could've stopped him. James Thomas said he was among a handful of Navarro cheerleaders who were "ride-or-dies" for Jerry and everyone felt "lost" upon learning of the investigation.

Thomas said they were asking themselves questions like "why couldn't I know? Or, why didn't I know. I could've helped him." He added that the allegations "just didn't seem real" at first. But he said that although he wanted to deny everything, it became impossible.

Eventually, Thomas said, "You realize you're awake in the real world."

Former Navarro cheerleader La'Darius Marshall had harsher words.

"If I ever would've known about any of this stuff, I feel like it would've been worse than him going to jail," Marshall said on the episode. "I don't care how famous you are, I don't care how much money you've got, I don't care how much people love you, that don't give you the right to do stuff like this. Especially when one of your best friends — you know — went through something like that."

The public first became aware of an FBI investigation into Harris in 2020

An investigation into Harris' behavior reportedly began in September 2020, after the FBI received a tip that he was soliciting sexually explicit photos and videos from minors, per USA Today. He was arrested and charged in federal court later that month, Insider's entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro previously reported.

Harris was charged with "seven counts regarding five minors" by December 2020, USA Today reported. The charges were related to "soliciting photos and sex from minors," and "persuading, inducing, and enticing a minor 'to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, and … transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct," per the report.

Harris is currently being held without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago on "federal child pornography charges and accusations that he solicited sex from minors," according to The New York Times. He pled not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Harris' first accusers also speak in the Netflix docuseries

Harris' first accusers, twins Sam and Charlie — whose last names are withheld because they are minors — are also featured on the episode "Jerry." Charlie said he first connected with Harris via Instagram when he was 13 and Harris was 19.

Charlie said Harris knew he was 13 years old and still requested sexually explicit photos of the teen. Charlie said he was "blindsided" by the fact that he was communicating with a famous fellow cheerleader, so he obliged.

According to Charlie, the pair kept communicating and later met at the 2019 ACA Championships. It was there, Charlie said, that Harris convinced him to go to the bathroom, alleging Harris "cornered me into the bathroom stall and basically was just like begging me, just continually pleading with me to just like have sex with him." The teen said he refused and left the bathroom.

Charlie's brother Sam learned about Harris' alleged behavior toward his brother after the 2019 ACA championships and said Harris began messaging him after the event. Their mother Kristen would later contact the FBI in the summer of 2020 after finding what she describes on "Cheer" as sexually explicit Snapchat photos on Charlie's phone.

A representative for Harris did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

In 2020, a statement was released to Variety on behalf of Harris denying the charges. "We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager. We are confident that when the investigation is completed the true facts will be revealed."