Actor Morgan Freeman Accused of Sexual Harassment

In an interaction caught on camera in 2015, CNN entertainment reporter Chloe Melas was interviewing actor Morgan Freeman at a press junket for his movie “Going in Style” when, in front a crowded room that included his co-stars, he grabbed her hand, looked her up and down, and commented, regarding her pregnancy, that “I wish I was there.” He also said she looked “ripe,” though this was not recorded.

These comments sparked a CNN investigation in which Freeman becomes the latest Hollywood actor to be accused of sexual misconduct, including unwanted touching and sexual comments.

One former production assistant told CNN that Freeman subjected her “to unwanted touching and comments about her figure and clothing on a near-daily basis.” She said, “Freeman would rest his hand on her lower back or rub her lower back.” It was reported that he also continually tried to lift her skirt.

Another former production staffer constantly dodged comments on her body. “He did comment on our bodies,” she told CNN. “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.”

The behavior was consistent across movie sets, and, CNN notes, within the offices of Revelations Entertainment, Freeman’s production company, as described by seven former employees. In total, sixteen people spoke to CNN, eight of whom had been victims of harassment; the other eight had witnessed or heard about the harassment.

They didn’t report it until now because, as most said, “they feared for their jobs” and even though, as CNN notes, “the allegations against Freeman are not about things that happened in private; they are about things that allegedly happened in public, in front of witnesses—even in front of cameras.”

Freeman released an apology, obtained by Variety, saying he was sorry and “anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy.”

Truthdig is running a reader-funded project to document the Poor People’s Campaign. Please help us by making a donation.