Douglas denies ex-employee’s claim of sexual harassment
LOS ANGELES: A former employee has accused Michael Douglas of sexual harassment and misconduct in her presence, charges the Oscar-winning Hollywood megastar has vehemently denied.
Douglas, 73, is the latest bigname celebrity accused of seamy behaviour since a sexual harassment watershed began with the downfall of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein last year, The actor, Hollywood royalty as the son of actor Kirk Douglas, “thought he was the king of the world and that he could humiliate me without any repercussion”, writer Susan Braudy told NBC News in an interview.
Braudy has accused the double Oscar-winner of using sexually-charged language and commenting on her body during the three years she worked at the actor’s New York office of Stonebridge Productions in the 1980s. She said his abusive behaviour culminated in 1989 during a work session in his apartment at the height of his career, after he starred in hit movies including Wall Street and Fatal Attraction.
Douglas “slid down the floor, unbuckled his belt and put his hand inside his trousers and I could see what he was doing,” Braudy told NBC.
She said he then “sort of began to fondle himself, and I was very scared”. Braudy, the author of two non-fiction books,
said she told several friends about the incident and they urged her to stay quiet.
Douglas told The Hollywood Reporter that it was “an unfortunate and complete fabrication”. The actor told celebrity website Deadline: “I can’t believe that someone would cause someone else pain like this. Maybe she is disgruntled her career didn’t go the way she hoped and she is holding this grudge.” Reuters