Australian actress Rebel Wilson has come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against two powerful men in Hollywood, joining the growing number of people speaking out with similar stories in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Taking to social media yesterday, Wilson detailed the first of these incidents, saying that an unnamed “male star” tried to take advantage of her, and that she has since warned other people in the film industry about his behaviour. She wrote:
A male star, in a position of power asked me to go into a room with him and then asked me repeatedly to stick my finger up his ass. All whilst his male ‘friends’ tried to film the incident on their iPhones and laughed. I repeatedly said no and eventually got out of the room.
Wilson said that after this, she contacted her agent and lawyer and lodged a complaint with the studio, believing that she would be able to protect herself in the event that something similar occurred again, and walk off the job.
She said that later, she was “threatened” by one of the star’s representatives and told to “be nice” and support him. “The whole thing was disgusting,” she said. “I’ve told hundreds of people in the industry the story in more graphic detail basically to warn them off this individual.”
In addition to this, Rebel Wilson told the story of a hotel room encounter with an unnamed “top director” that occurred early in her career. She believed that she had been invited to his room to “talk comedy”, and gave no further detail, but added:
“Nothing physical happened because the guy’s wife called and started abusing him over the phone for sleeping with actresses and luckily she was yelling so loud that I could hear her and I bolted out of there immediately. I was so naive the thought of anything happening apart from ‘work talk’ didn’t even cross my mind.”
To hear how prevalent sexual harassment and assault is, is just so saddening. I know my stories aren’t as horrific as other women and men have described – but if you’ve ever experienced anything like this I feel for you and can relate on some level.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) November 11, 2017
She went on to say she felt fortunate she was able to escape both incidents, adding “I realise not everyone is as lucky.” “I know, moving forward, that if I witness this behavior, whether it happens to me or someone I know, I will no longer be POLITE,” she added. “Interpret that as you will.”
