According to CNN, Morgan Freeman, a well-known black film star who is loved by fans around the world, has been accused of sexual harassment or inappropriate speech against them in terms of behavior and speech at film scenes, press conferences and his "Revelations Entertainment" film company.
Morgan Freeman
A female assistant on the scene of "Going in Style", released last year, told CNN that she had experienced months of sexual harassment, and Morgan Freeman often had inappropriate physical contact with her, and frequently made inappropriate comments about her body type and dress: "He always liked to lift my skirt while asking me if I was wearing panties." ”
Stills from "The Three Old Gunners"
Another accuser, from the production team of the film Now You See Me, said Freeman had been verbally sexually harassing her and another female assistant with rather vulgar language. "So later we all have experience, if there is his play today, then we will think in advance, today we must definitely dress conservatively, never let him see your chest or ass, never wear close-fitting, line-revealing clothes." 」
Stills from "The Amazing Gang"
According to CNN, they interviewed 16 women, and in the end, 8 of them made unfavorable allegations against Freeman, and the other 8 said that they had not been harassed by him or seen him harass others. It is worth mentioning that as a participant in CNN's report, the station's female reporter Chloe Melas also has another layer of witness role in the report. According to his recollection, when he went to interview the crew for the report "Three Old Gunmen", in the face of her who was already pregnant with Liujia, Freeman took the opportunity to shake hands and said to her: "Oh my God, I really wish I could lie in your place." You're ripe. One side was still reluctant to let go of the hand he was holding.
In 1996, Freeman teamed up with the independent film company Revelation Entertainment, which over the years has produced such well-known films and television works as Invictus, Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman, and The Story of God with Morgan Freeman. This time, as many as six women also accused that they had been sexually harassed by their bosses to varying degrees during their time at the company. A former manager of the company said, "He would often walk up to my desk, obviously he had already said hello to me, and he refused to leave." He just stood there, staring down at my chest. Later, as long as I knew that he would come to the company today, I would not wear a skirt. ”
In the face of these allegations, Freeman has made a written response at the first time: "Anyone who has cooperated with me, but anyone who knows me a little, knows that I am by no means the kind of person who will intentionally offend others and make people feel unhappy." I would like to apologize here to those who feel disrespected and unhappy — that was by no means my intention. ”
However, in the context of the #MeToo movement sweeping the world, such an apology is clearly useless. Yesterday, as soon as the CNN report was over, VISA Credit Card had announced the suspension of all advertising for its endorsements, and TransLink, a transit transport system in Metro Vancouver, Canada, had also issued an announcement that it had suspended its endorsement services. Meanwhile, Screen Actors Guild said it was "reviewing" whether the Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded to Freeman earlier this year, was necessary to take it back.
Stills from The Shawshank Redemption
Freeman, who is about to turn 81 on June 1, has been in the industry for more than half a century, and has starred in classic films such as "Driving for Miss Daisy", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Seven Deadly Sins", and won five Oscar nominations, and finally won the title of "Million Dollar Baby" in 2005. Off-screen, he has always been a philanthropic passion and a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party of the United States and former President Barack Obama.