Actresses share stories of abuse at start of careers
Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lawrence have shared harrowing stories of abuse they suffered early in their careers. The actors, who gave speeches at the Elle Women in Hollywood event on Monday night, detailed experiences of assault and harassment at the hands of directors and producers and pledged to do more to stop such situations from happening.
Witherspoon told the crowd how the revelations about disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein’s alleged misconduct had brought back her own memories ‘‘very vividly’’.
She said she had ’’true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16 years old and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment’’. She did not name the director.
Her publicist was yet to respond to requests for further comment.
At the same event, Lawrence detailed the torment and mockery she had faced as a woman in film.
Though Lawrence has stated she wasn’t personally abused by Weinstein, that didn’t mean she’s never been a victim of sexual harassment in the industry.
‘‘When I was much younger and starting out, I was told by the producers of a film to lose 15 pounds in two weeks,’’ Lawrence recalled.
‘‘During this time a female producer had me do a nude lineup with about five women who were much, much thinner than me. And we all stood side by side with only paste-ons covering our privates.
‘‘After that degrading and humiliating lineup, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet,’’ she said.
‘‘I was trapped, and I can see that now. I didn’t want to be a whistleblower, I didn’t want these embarrassing stories talked about in a magazine, I just wanted a career.’’
Lawrence then pledged her support to a proposed commission, spearheaded by fellow honouree Kathleen Kennedy, that aims to end sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
‘‘We will stop normalising these horrific situations.’’