Morgan Freeman is the latest Hollywood star to be accused of inappropriate sexual behavior, a Thursday report from CNN claims.
Sixteen individuals spoke with CNN’s An Phung and Chloe Melas and detailed a pattern of “sexual harassment,” “unwanted touching,” and other “inappropriate behavior” spanning at least a decade.
Melas, an entertainment reporter with CNN, is one of the 16 victims and witnesses to Freeman’s conduct.
Eight of the 16 claimed to be personally sexually harassed by Freeman himself. Eight claimed to be witnesses to Freeman’s inappropriate sexual conduct. Seven claimed he fostered an inappropriate behavioral climate at Revelations Entertainment, the production company Freeman co-founded in 1996.
Freeman “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear,” one accuser told CNN of her time on the set of 2015’s “Going In Style,” which Freeman starred in. She claims his co-star Alan Arkin eventually “made a comment telling him to stop. Morgan got freaked out and didn’t know what to say.”
Another accuser, a female senior production staff member on 2012’s “Now You See Me,” claims Freeman frequently made inappropriate comments about her own and her co-workers’ bodies.
“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 explained.
The accusers also implicate Lori McCreary, a co-founder of Revelations Entertainment, in being aware of at least one case of sexual harassment.
Still, CNN did speak to “dozens” of other individuals who reportedly defended Freeman’s reputation: “Some praised Freeman, saying they never witnessed any questionable behavior or that he was a consummate professional on set and in the office.”
Freeman responded to the allegations Thursday afternoon following CNN’s report.
“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone fell uneasy,” he wrote. “I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
