Source: Getty Images / Morgan Freeman
Soon after CNN broke the news that eight women accused Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment, the Oscar-winning actor issued a second statement stressing that he is innocent.
“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,” Freeman writes.
“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.”
However, he claims that all he did was make jokes and had no intention to make anyone uncomfortable.
“But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false.”
https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/1000211609233580033
As we previously reported, CNN released an exclusive report in which they spoke with 16 people, eight of which say they experienced harassment at the hands of the 80-year-old actor.
One source who worked as a production assistant on the 2015 film, “Going In Style” told the outlet that she experienced months of harassment. In several instances she alleged that Freeman frequently rubbed her back and tried on several occasions to lift up her skirt, inquiring whether or not she had on underwear.
“He never successfully lifted her skirt, she said — he would touch it and try to lift it, she would move away, and then he’d try again,” CNN reports.
However, one woman has come forward to say that CNN mischaracterized her statement and that she does not want to be included among any accusers.
Chicago WGN-TV’s Tyra Martin is saying that she has issues with the way her comments were presented in CNN‘s report.
“Hey, still getting a lot of nasty messages from people who think I AM one of the accusers,” she told TMZ. “I’m not, never was. CNN totally misrepresented the video and took my remarks out of context.”
According to CNN’s report, eight women said Freeman created an uncomfortable work environment with frequent sexual comments and unwanted touching.
Martin, who had interviewed Freeman multiple times, described the actor as casually inappropriate with her — enough for her to become accustomed to his bawdy comments. In one specific interaction, Freeman commented inappropriately about her skirt.
“When I stood up, I pulled my skirt part of my dress down and he did say, ‘Oh, don’t pull it down now,’“ Martin recalled.
Martin doesn’t change her testimony, but she does take issue with being named as one of his accusers. Instead, she saw many of his comments, though inappropriate, to be said in jest.
“That wasn’t my experience of Morgan Freeman,” she clarified her comments on Friday during WGN-TVs morning show. “The experiences were always fun for me.”
Freeman issued an initial statement apologizing on Thursday (May 24) when news hit of the damning report.
“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 apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”
Freeman has already been pulled from his ubiquitous Visa ads.
READ MORE STORIES ON BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM:
- Jamie Foxx, Vivica Fox star in Tyler Perry Spoof
- CRA$H The BA$H To Birthday Bash Flyaway Contest
- Jeezy Accused By Jeannie Mai Of Spousal Abuse & Child Neglect
GET THE HOTTEST STORIES STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX:
Morgan Freeman Issues A Second Statement: ‘I Did Not Assault These Women’ was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
