Brendan Fraser has opened up about his alleged sexual assault in 2003 that saw him disappear from the big screen, declaring that: "I've been violated."
The actor, 54, revealed in 2018 to GQ that the former president and member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk, allegedly groped him during a luncheon in Hollywood in 2003.
Speaking at the time, Fraser said he felt that "something had been taken away from me". The actor revealed during a recent interview that the HPFA put out a statement saying that they stand firm against all forms of sexual harassment, but concluded: "The evidence supports that it was intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance."
Per the Guardian, The Mummy star has stated that he won't be attending the upcoming Golden Globes awards ceremony due to not "being a hypocrite." He said: "I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect."
Fraser has recently opened up to CBS News about his experiences in 2003, stating that the #MeToo movement gave him the courage he needed to speak out, seeing his colleagues and friends doing the same.
The star told CBS News that the incident derailed everything for him. "There's a system in place that is about power," he explained. "I had played by the rules up until that point. And I felt like, okay, now, suddenly, I've been violated. And it has gone too far. And I will no longer abide this."
The actor is currently promoting his new movie The Whale directed by Darren Aronofsky, 53, where he plays a 600-lb English teacher, desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter as his health deteriorates.
The movie received a six-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival, leaving Fraser understandably emotional on his return to the big screen as a leading character in 12 years.
He has recently been forced to defend the use of prosthetics for the role, as critics declare that Fraser is not obese and therefore should not play a character who is.
The actor said that the team felt an obligation to get the character right, and not to be seen as a "one note joke".
Fraser concluded his interview with CBS News by saying: "It feels like a new day, that's for sure, it does. It feels like a new, better, beautiful day!"
