(Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
A new report details allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior that on-set personnel and employees have experienced at the hands of actor Morgan Freeman.
Sixteen women claim Freeman, who has starred in critically-acclaimed films like “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” made inappropriate remarks, looks and actions against them, according to a CNN investigation published Thursday, May 24.
Eight of the women say they’ve experienced the behavior on set, during press junkets and while working at his production company, Revelations Entertainment. The other eight say they’ve witnessed these incidents.
A former Revelations employee said Freeman “stunned” her when he “looked me up and down” and asked, “How do you feel about sexual harassment?”
Another woman, who used to be a manager at the company said the now-80-year-old would “come over to my desk to say hi and he’d just stand there and stare at me. He would stare at my breasts.”
A production assistant who worked on “Going In Style” said “constant comments about the way I looked” made her come home and sob and ultimately led her to abandon the entertainment industry. She also alleged he “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear” while she was on the set. He didn’t succeed in lifting her skirt and the woman alleged he only stopped when co-star Alan Arkin told him to.
Another woman said at the movie’s wrap party, Freeman “was looking at my breasts, and I told him, ‘My eyes are up here.’ Then we went to take a group photo and he pressed himself up against me. It was inappropriate.”
When it came to reporters, three women said Freeman made remarks that were out of pocket.
He allegedly told a CNN reporter that interviewed the star at least nine times in 10 years “don’t pull it down now,” when she adjusted the skirt portion of her dress.
Chloe Melas, who also works for CNN, said she was six months pregnant when Freeman looked her up and down and said more than one variation of “I wish I was there.”
A Hollywood Foreign Press Association member and entertainment reporter said she put up with comments he made about her skirt and legs during two different press junkets.
Many of the women said they did not speak out because of Freeman’s fame and clout.
According to AP, Freeman issued an apology through his publicist to anyone who may have felt “uncomfortable or disrespected” by his behavior. He said he never intended to make anyone feel uneasy.
