A-list Natalie: I was victim of ‘sexual terrorism’ at 13
Oscar-winner’s harrowing story as she joins stars at Women’s March
Natalie Portman has told how she became the victim of ‘sexual terrorism’ as a child star of 13.
the Oscar-winner appeared alongside a host of Hollywood names at the Women’s March in los angeles on Saturday, one of dozens of rallies across the globe to o protest against gender inequality.
in an emotional speech, Miss Portman, 36, , added her voice to the scores of women who o have spoken of enduring sexual harassment t and abuse following the accusations against t movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
She told the tens of thousands gathered in n la how as a child star she had been ‘so o excited’ at appearing in her first film, 1994’s s leon: the Professional, in which she played a child looked after by a hitman. then she recalled the moment she opened her first piece of fan mail and how her delight turned to fear as she read the writer’s sick fantasy of wanting to rape her. She told how reviewers s
‘Fan mail contained rape fantasy’
discussed her ‘budding breasts’, while a local radio station even began a disturbing countdown to her 18th birthday – the date it would be legal to have sex with her.
She said the fear she felt at this sort of attention meant she adjusted her public persona to ensure men would not think of her sexually, even turning down roles in which she would have to share an onscreen kiss.
‘i understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if i were to express myself sexually i would feel unsafe and that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort,’ she said.
‘the response to my expression – from small comments about my body to more threatening deliberate statements – served to control my behaviour through an environment of sexual terrorism’.
thousands of women took to the streets in over 250 american cities on Saturday to join the marches, with many sporting placards and t-shirts emblazoned with feminist and anti-trump slogans.
Women also gathered in london and across europe on Sunday to add their voices to the campaign.
it came a year on from the first Women’s Marches, held on the first day of Donald trump’s presidency. However the president seemed unfazed by the protests, tweeting: ‘ Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March.
‘Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. lowest female unemployment in 18 years!’
Scarlett Johansson, Whoopi Goldberg and eva longoria were among some of the famous faces at the marches.
the singer adele, 29, posted a picture on instagram of herself with actresses Jennifer lawrence and Cameron Diaz at the la march. ‘the most influential people in my life have always been women,’ she wrote. ‘My family, my friends, my teachers, my colleagues, and my idols. i am obsessed with all the women in my life. i adore them and need them more and more every day. i am so grateful to be a woman, i wouldn’t change it for the world.’
industry insiders have predicted Gary Oldman may lose out on a Best actor Oscar because of the current culture of ‘purity’ in the wake of the Hollywood sex scandal. the British star, 59, won a Golden Globe this month for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. this is widely seen as a indicator of possible Oscar success. But some film critics claimed he could miss out as in 2001 he faced accusations from his then wife that he had beaten her with a telephone receiver. Oldman has always denied this.