Renowned actor Morgan Freeman has apologized after being accused by several women of making inappropriate advances toward them.
Freeman, 80, issued an apology Thursday in light of the allegations by at least eight women that ranged from unwanted touching to sexually suggestive comments on movie sets, in office environments and during press junkets.
“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy,” he said in the issued statement. “I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”
One of the women who worked as a production assistant told CNN that she’d endured several months of harassment while working on the set of Freeman’s 2017 movie, “Going in Style,” including an incident in which she said Freeman “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear.”
Another woman described as a senior member of the production staff of the 2013 movie “Now You See Me” said Freeman would routinely comment on her physical appearance and that of her assistant.
Chloe Melas, an entertainment reporter for CNN, added that during an interview last year about “Going in Style,” when she was six months pregnant, Freeman looked her up and down and told her, “You are ripe.”
Freeman is the latest among a long list of high-profile men in entertainment and politics to become entangled in the #MeToo movement in which women are coming forward to point a finger at their aggressors.
