In the wake of the #METOO movement, women everywhere have started coming forward with shocking tales of abuse from colleagues, bosses and the like.
Ocean’s 8 star Sandra Bullock is the latest celebrity to reveal that she was abused by a man in power and in an interview with Sunday Times magazine she recalls asking to be fired from a film after a “person of authority” made unwanted advances towards her.
“Very early on in my career I had a situation on a film, which was hard. It came from a person of authority. I kept deflecting it with humour and it didn’t work. Finally, I said, ‘Please, just fire me’. It was a lesson. After that, I tended to remove anything that could be misconstrued as sexual. I locked it down.”
Bullock (left) with Ocean’s 8 co-star Cate Blanchett (right).
She went on to reveal that while she never crossed paths with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, she was definitely aware of the abuse that was happening across Hollywood.
“I heard about Harvey and I was afraid of him. I wasn’t asked to be in that world. I learned early on to shut things off so those things didn’t come my way.”
“I only heard what Harvey wanted people to hear, and that made me so f–king angry. People would say, ‘Well, you know how she got that role? She fucked Harvey.’ I would say, ‘Shut the fuck up. You don’t know that.’ Then, later, to find out that woman was brutally attacked … They didn’t sleep with Harvey. Harvey wanted you to think that.”
After loads of women made accusations against Weinstein, Bullock says that she was “really, really scared” for the “brave people”.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing, but fuck, fuck, fuck, what if it doesn’t work? Please God, let it not swing the other way.’ We’re in such uncharted territory right now. I’ve seen a lot of fear and a lot of men of a certain generation not understanding.”
Last month a grand jury in New York City voted to indict the former film mogul and accused sexual predator on rape and criminal sex act charges.
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr announced the indictment in a statement, saying that it brings Weinstein another step closer to justice:
This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged. Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs. The defendant’s recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable. We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand.
I thank the heroic survivors for their strength throughout this process. I also thank Commissioner James O’Neill and members of the New York City police department for their dedication to this case. This investigation remains active and ongoing.
This article discusses sexual assault. If you would like to talk to a counsellor about rape, sexual assault or domestic violence, give the people over at 1800 RESPECT a call on 1800 737 732.
