If you thought that every sexual predator in the entertainment industry had finally been outed for their inexcusable behavior, well, you would be wrong. A new investigation by CNN reveals that 16 people have accused Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman of sexual misconduct.
According to CNN, eight victims and eight witnesses have described a similar pattern of behavior by the 80-year-old actor in which he would often intimidate female producers, staff and other women he’s worked with by touching them inappropriately and making comments about their bodies.
In one incident, an anonymous victim, who was a production assistant on Freeman’s film Going In Style, says he “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear.” While the victim says she would move away when he would try, Freeman allegedly continued the behavior until Alan Arkin, another star of the film, told him to knock it off.
While many of these incidents took place on the sets of Freeman’s films, seven people also reported that several incidents of sexual harassment took place in the office at Revelations Entertainment, a production company the actor co-founded with Lori McCreary. One former female staffer of the company says the when she met him for the first time, Freeman even asked her directly, after looking her up and down, “How do you feel about sexual harassment?” (Ew.)
“I was stunned,” she told CNN. “This is the person that I worked for, this is his company, I didn’t expect it at all … I said timidly, ‘I love it’ in a sarcastic way hoping to make light of the situation because I was so confused and then he turned to the guys on the crew … and said, ‘See guys, this is how you do it.'”
As if that’s not bad enough, according to another former Revelations Entertainment employee, when Freeman sexually harassed her in front of other employees, they reportedly burst out laughing and one even told her, “Don’t worry, that’s just Morgan.”
For his part, Freeman reportedly refused multiple requests for comment from CNN (accompanied by a detailed list of allegations) until after the investigation was public. Since then, he’s released a statement saying “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.”
All that remains is one question: at what point are men going to start taking some responsibility for their actions? LMK.
Actually, just kidding — this is also a very valid question:
And if we’re coming for Morgan Freeman why the fuck is @realDonaldTrump still in the White House with twice as many sexual assault accusations
— Bug (@twigfw_) May 24, 2018