‘Definition of abuse has changed

Natalie Portman has said the ongoing #MeToo movement forced her to rethink the definition of abuse. The 37-year-old actor hopes the campaign against sexual harassment, misconduct and assault will help prevent predatory behaviour.

“It was amazing how many things that I didn’t even categorise as abusive behaviour. I just thought it was (something that) made me really upset or made me uncomfortable. And now I think all of this reckoning has made me even be like, ‘Oh that wasn’t just a bad date, that was an abusive date’, ‘That wasn’t just an uncomfortable meeting, that was an abusive meeting’... And has made me look at things differently and hopefully it’ll prevent this kind of behaviour when people are, men and women, are more aware of that,” Portman told Entertainment Tonight.

The Oscar-winning actor said that she wants to help to build a better and different world for her children — Aleph, seven and Amalia, one. “I have a girl and a boy, and I want both of them to grow up with different ideas of opportunity, of behaviour, of the options opened to them because both boys and girls are limited by a system that expects very, very specific things from boys and from girls. Everyone’s options are limited because of this,” she said.

It was amazing how many things that I didn’t even categorise as abusive behaviour. I just thought it was (something that) made me really upset or made me uncomfortable. And now I think all of this reckoning has made me even be like, ‘Oh that wasn’t just a bad date, that was an abusive date’

NATALIE PORTMAN ACTOR

PHOTO:MARK BLINCH/REUTERS Natalie Portman had earlier said that when the #MeToo movement started, she didn’t have a story of harassment to tell until she realised that she had been experiencing it all along