5 Things To Know About The Morgan Freeman Sexual Harassment Allegations
Eight women claim they were victims of harassment and inappropriate behavior.
Getty Images Morgan Freeman has been accused of sexual harassment and "creepy uncle" type inappropriate behavior, but who just had their MeToo moment accusing him, and what did he do?
In an investigative report by CNN, eight women came forward with allegations that they were all victims of the 80-year-old actor's sexual misconduct that's been happening throughout his long career. Eight other people talked to reporters and claimed they were witnesses to the incidents.
Of the victims' accounts, two said he subjected them to unwanted touching and three said he made public comments about their bodies and what they were wearing.
None of them reported it because they were afraid of losing their jobs.
One unnamed woman said that while she was working as a production assistant on Going In Style, Freeman repeatedly touched her without her permission. He would rest his hand on her lower back, rub her lower back and make comments about her body.
She also said Freeman "kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear."
He would touch her skirt, try to lift it and she would move away. Then he would try again.
"Alan [Arkin] made a comment telling him to stop. Morgan got freaked out and didn't know what to say."
Another unnamed woman who was a senior member of the production staff of Now You See Me told CNN that during the filming of the movie in 2012, Freeman sexually harassed her and her female assistant.
"He did comment on our bodies," she said. "We knew that if he was coming by ... not to wear any top that would show our breasts, not to wear anything that would show our bottoms, meaning not wearing clothes that [were] fitted."
Three entertainment reporters also spoke to CNN about the inappropriate remarks Freeman made during press junkets. Chloe Melas, a reporter for CNN, said she was subject to that behavior when she interviewed him while six months pregnant.
When shaking her hand, he wouldn't let go and repeatedly looked up and down while saying "I wish I was there." He also told her she was "ripe."
She reported the incident to Warner Bros. which has produced the movie, and HR reps said that they could not corroborate her account because only one of Freeman's remarks was recorded and other Warner Bros. employees who were present didn't notice anything.
CNN reached out to Freeman's rep for comment but has received no response. Here are five things we know about the Morgan Freeman sexual assault allegations:
1. The alleged incidents took place on movie sets and at his production company, Revelations Entertainment.
Freeman founded the company in 1996 with Lori McCreary, a well-known producer in Hollywood. He said in an interview last year that he wanted to start Revelations because he was frustrated by the lack of role choices for black actors and because he wanted to reveal the truth about serious issues.
While many of their movies and projects are ambitious in nature and have strong female leads, former Revelations staffers say it's all a facade. They blame Freeman and McCreary for creating a "toxic" work environment.
At least six former employees say they witnesses Freeman's behavior around women, which included several incidents of sexual comments and one incident of unsolicited touching.
2. One Revelations employee said he even joked with her about sexual harassment.
One unnamed staffer said that while on the set of Through the Wormhole, she was flanked by a group of men. Freeman was present, and he looked her up and down and said: "How do you feel about sexual harassment?"
"I was stunned," she said. "This is the person that I worked for, this is his company, I didn't expect it at all ... I said timidly, 'I love it' in a sarcastic way hoping to make light of the situation because I was so confused and then he turned to the guys on the crew ... and said, 'See guys, this is how you do it.'"
3. Another employee of his said he would stand over her desk and just "stare at her breasts."
"If I ever passed him he would stare at me in an awkward way, would look me up and down sometimes stopping and just staring," said the woman, who was a manager at Revelations. "One time he stopped, looked me up and down as I walked into a room of people, and everyone burst out laughing. And I literally froze feeling very uncomfortable and one of the people in the office said, 'Don't worry, that's just Morgan.'"
"That sort of interaction was when I stopped wearing a skirt around the office when he was there," she said. "I can't say it was an accident that I'd be wearing a potato sack and a ponytail on certain days when he was there and do my best to avoid him when he was in the office."
Other employees said that while Freeman wasn't in the office every day when he was there, he acted like a "creepy uncle."
4. During a birthday party at the office, he got weirdly close to every woman's face.
During the actor's 79th birthday, everyone stood in a circle to tell Freeman who they were and what they did at Revelations. A former executive said the Freeman went up to the women in the circle and stood "maybe within an inch of their face and just look them up and down and not say anything, and then would move on to the next woman and he'd stand like within an inch of their face and look them up and down and not say anything, and it was really, really strange."
"It was really weird and he did it to every woman but of course he didn't do it to any of the men. He didn't speak to any of the men."
"We saw Morgan go around to the girls in the circle and get really close to their faces, he didn't do it to the men," said a writer for Madam Secretary. "I don't know what he said but we all thought it was strange and couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. Absolutely there were sexual undertones to it."
5. Freeman even made comments about his business partner, McCreary.
In 2016 during a producer's conference, Freeman described what McCreary was wearing during their first meeting together. He said she "had on a dress cut to here."
"She wants to be thought of as serious," said he said in front of McCreary and 400 other people. "But you can't get away from the short dresses."
He even stood by his comments when asked about them on the Today show.
"It was just something I said in jest about when I first met her, it was more than 20 years ago," he said. "How is that news?"
Though McCreary didn't react to the comment while on stage in the panel, one of the former Revelations executives said she was visibly upset when she returned to the office.
"I tried to console her and she was clearly upset and I think she was surprised and found it hurtful and embarrassing," said the former executive. "She was devastated."