Morgan Freeman Accused of Inappropriate Behavior, Harassment by Eight Women
Oscar winner Morgan Freeman now stands accused of sexual harassment by at least eight women, according to a new report that spoke with 16 people connected with the allegations. Freemen allegedly engaged in "inappropriate behavior" ranging from sexual remarks, touching, and pulling up the skirt of a woman in at least one case.
The report by CNN spoke to at least eight women who accuse the 80-year-old actor of harassment. At some point, female members of the production staff of the movie "Now You See Me" in 2012 were driven to dress defensively to avoid getting noticed by the actor, according to one account.
They resorted to changing their dress habits to avoid attention from Freeman, according to one woman. "He did comment on our bodies... We knew that if he was coming by ... not to wear any top that would show our breasts, not to wear anything that would show our bottoms, meaning not wearing clothes that [were] fitted," she recalled.
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In the set of the 2015 movie "Going in Style," one woman allegedly had to put up with the actor attempting to pull her skirt up to look under it. Freeman would only stop when he was reprimanded by his co-star, Alan Arkin, as Vox summed up the alleged incident.
This behavior was apparently not limited to the set, too. Entertainment reporters who covered Freeman were said to have been subjected to inappropriate remarks, during press junkets and other events as well. The allegations range from incidents on set to promotion tours, as well as on how Freeman's own production company was run.
Revelations Entertainment, the productions firm that he co-founded with Lori McCreary, was a "toxic work environment" for the female staff. Apparently, even McCreary herself was the subject of remarks from Freeman back in 2016, as well.
Most of the victims, according to the report by CNN, recalled witnessing or experiencing harassment but chose to let it go to keep their jobs. Instead, women have reportedly tried to change the way they dress in Revelations Entertainment, especially when they knew Freeman will be present.
As soon as the CNN report came out, Visa put out a statement dropping Freeman from their marketing. The actor's voice has been an established part of the ads for the credit card company, as Reuters pointed out.
Meanwhile, the actor has put out a statement offering an apology. "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy," he said.
"I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent," he added. Representatives for Revelations Entertainment has not offered a comment aside from that as of this time.
