Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier has denied allegations from Björk that he sexually harassed her while they were filming Dancer in the Dark.
Yesterday we reported on Björk detailing her experience of sexual harassment. While she didn’t explicitly name von Trier, she did describe the director as “Danish”; given her extremely short film history, it wasn’t hard to narrow the list down to just one name. It also dovetailed with reports that the two clashed on set, and the 2011 revelation that Björk warned Nicole Kidman not to star in von Trier’s next film.
Speaking to Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, von Trier denied the allegations.
“This is not the case – although we didn’t get along, that’s a fact,” he said. “On the other hand, she delivered one of the greatest performances in my movies.”
The film’s producer, Peter Aalbæk Jensen, took things a step further and claimed he and von Trier were victims of Björk’s.
“As far as I remember, we were victims. That woman was stronger than both Lars von Trier and me and our company together.”
Björk said she was inspired to come forward in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, which has so far seen at least 34 women speak out about harassment or assault from the disgraced producer.
“Because of my strength, my great team and because I had nothing to lose having no ambitions in the acting world, I walked away from it and recovered in a year’s time,” she wrote. “I am worried though that other actresses working with the same man did not.”
If you have experienced sexual assault and would like to reach out for support, please call the folks over at 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
