Morgan Freeman, 80, accused of sexual harassment
Several women have accused 80-year-old actor Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour in a CNN story published Thursday.
The report alleged a “pattern of inappropriate behaviour by Freeman on set, while promoting his movies and at his production company Revelations Entertainment.”
The outlet spoke with 16 people for the piece: Eight women who said they were subjected to such behaviour from Freeman and eight who said they witnessed it.
All of them spoke anonymously, except for CNN reporter Chloe Melas, who co-authored the piece. Melas said Freeman harassed her at a media junket.
Freeman's accusers say he often made comments about women's appearances in public and would look them up and down and stare at their breasts. Two women alleged unwanted touching.
Freeman released a statement to the Washington Post that read, “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”
In addition to Melas’ accusations, two other entertainment reporters also told CNN that Freeman made “inappropriate remarks” to them at media junkets.
Melas said she encountered Freeman at a media junket for the 2017 movie “Going in Style” more than a year ago. She was six months pregnant at the time. She said Freeman shook her hand and didn't let go for some time, while he looked her up and down and said, “You are ripe” along with several variations of “I wish I was there.”
When the Post inquired about the incident, a spokesperson for Warner Brothers confirmed CNN's account and had no further comment.
Furthermore, seven of the people CNN interviewed “described an environment at Revelations Entertainment that included allegations of harassment or inappropriate behaviour by Freeman there.” The company allegedly did not have a formal human resources department at the time.
These allegations included Freeman publicly making demeaning comments to Lori McCreary, who co-founded Revelations Entertainment with the actor.
In 2016, McCreary and Freeman appeared on a Produced By Conference panel discussion before an audience of about 400, and Freeman described their first meeting. Freeman said, “She had on a dress cut to here,” later adding, “She doesn't want to be thought of as a pretty face. She wants to be thought of as serious. But you can't get away from the short dresses.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, McCreary did not visibly react to these comments.
The Washington Post has put in a request for comment to McCreary and Revelations Entertainment.
Freeman is one of the most prominent actors to be accused of sexual harassment during the #MeToo era.
He has long been heralded by fans as a regal and almost angelic figure, actually portraying God in several films. He has been nominated for five Oscars, winning one for best supporting actor in 2005 for his role in “Million Dollar Baby.”
The Screen Actors Guild also presented him with its coveted lifetime achievement award at January's annual SAG Awards — but the organization is now considering revoking it.
“Any accused person has the right to due process, but it is our starting point to believe the courageous voices who come forward to report incidents of harassment,” a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter.
“Given Mr. Freeman recently received one of our union's most prestigious honours recognizing his body of work, we are therefore reviewing what corrective actions may be warranted at this time.”
In addition, TransLink, Vancouver's public transportation network, “has decided to pause his voice announcements as part of a Visa ad campaign on the transit system.”
The accusations also caused a stir on social media.
Rose McGowan, an actress who has accused Harvey Weinstein of rape and who has been a controversial figure in the #MeToo movement, tweeted, “Hi everyone, I know your idols are falling, I know it hurts to be disappointed, but imagine if that person you thought you knew from his image sexually harassed you. Stay the course, we will be better for this societally. The conversation must be had.”