Actor Morgan Freeman has been accused of sexual harassment by a number of women.
According to a special investigation by CNN, eight production assistants, film workers and entertainment journalists, (including CNN reporter Chloe Melas), claim that they have been sexually harassed by Freeman in the past, or that he behaved inappropriately towards them. A further eight people claimed that they had witnessed Freeman's misconduct, though had not been harassed themselves.
One production assistant, who was not named in the CNN report, alleged that Freeman would subject her to inappropriate touching, and once attempted to lift up her skirt and asked if she was wearing underwear. A member of the production staff for the 2013 movie Now You See Me stated that Freeman would often make inappropriate comments about the way women on set were dressed. "He did comment on our bodies," she stated. "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."
Melas claims that Freeman sexually harassed her while she was covering the press junket for “Going In Style". Melas was six months pregnant at the time of these alleged incidents, which apparently involved Freeman making demeaning comments about her legs and the length of her skirt. Melas reported Freeman’s behaviour to CNN’s HR department, who in turn contacted Warner Bros. However, because her story couldn't be corroborated, the matter was dropped.
An anonymous member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association claims that Freeman made similar comments about her legs and her clothes during two separate junkets, and that the actor's fame and connections intimidated her into staying silent. "I was just trying to do my job and I brushed it off," she stated. "You don’t want to put him on the spot because one, he’s famous and two, it’s on camera and three, you just want to do your job."
Freeman has now apologised for his misconduct, stating: "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologise to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected - that was never my intent."
