Morgan Freeman releases statement following sexual harassment allegations

Wikimedia Commons/FRZThe 80-year old actor has issued an statement wherein he apologized to everyone who had been made uncomfortable or offended, which was never his intent according to Freeman.

Eight women have accused Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment.

Two, including the production assistant on “Going in Style” whose skirt he allegedly attempted to lift, said Freeman subjected them to unwanted touching. She told CNN that females on the set knew to wear modest clothing when Freeman was around, otherwise he was likely to “comment on our bodies”. He didn’t manage to, but she says he tried, even as she moved away, until co-star Alan Arkin told him to cut it out.

“Right when I walked into the room, he began making sexually suggestive comments to me”, she said. CNN reporter Chloe Melas, who co-wrote the report, says that she too was subjected to harassment by the actor during a press interview for Going in Style. His remarks reportedly included, “I wish I was there”, and “You are ripe”, Melas said.

There were several such accusations against him by these women.

Chicago WGN-TV’s entertainment producer Tyra Martin alleged that once, she pulled down her skirt while standing up after an interview with Freeman, to which the actor said: ‘Oh, don’t pull it down now’. CNN reports that they reached out to “dozens more people who worked for or with Freeman” as part of their investigation.

The production assistant was among eight women to tell CNN they had been the victims of harassment. On social media, the reaction to the CNN report about Freeman was strong and swift. From production assistants to staff at Revelations Entertainment, CNN got in touch with many women associated with Morgan Freeman in a professional capacity and a lot of them have described his behaviour as inappropriate.

“He would be verbally inappropriate and it was just shocking”, claimed a former male employee at Revelations Entertainment, the movie production company that the Million Dollar Baby actor founded in 1996 with his business partner Lori McCreary. CNN also reported that seven people have described the environment at Revelations Entertainment as toxic.

Morgan Freeman was awarded a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in January.