Morgan Freeman has put out a secondary statement that outright denies and defends against claims sexual harassment by eight different women. His exact words were that he “did not assault women”.
Freeman started his statement with the following: “I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday’s media reports. All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humor.”
The man with one of the most famous voices in show business did know that he may have been in some situations that could have been misconstrued. “I admit that I am someone who feels a need to try to make women-and men-feel appreciated and at ease around me. As a part of that, I would often try to joke with and compliment women, in what I thought was a light-hearted and humorous way.”
An in-depth story initially presented by CNN, 8 different women stated that Freeman made statements about how they looked, and placed hands on them.
One of the women worked with Freeman on the movie “Going In Style”. She claimed that for an entire several months Freeman commented about her appearance almost everyday and would give her back massages. He apparently even went so far as to ask if she was wearing underwear, while trying to lift up her skirt.
Freeman’s sponsors have already begun dropping the actor.