Natasha Lyonne Reveals She Was Sexually Assaulted by a Director

Orange is the New Black star Natasha Lyonne said she was sexually assaulted at age 19 by a director. She came forward with a powerful Instagram post on Sunday.

I’d always felt like the oldest girl in showbiz. By the time I met G—for his Janis Joplin film I was roughly 19 and already had been at work as a kid actor for 13 years. I wanted the part so bad. No one knew Janis like I did from the inside out. I’d known her that way since I’d memorized all her lyrics as a little girl actress readying myself for the day I got to play her. And here it was. Slums of Beverly Hills had just come out & I was a hot commodity. We would meet in LA while I was in town to discuss the project. He was 35-40. I was staying at my friend Zoe’s apt in West Hollywood. I didn’t have a car cuz I lived in New York City. I thought I was a real tough guy back then. Sometimes I still do. I wore baby blue corduroy bell bottoms stolen from my friend Annie P and a white wife beater. My hair was huge, curly, messy. Big platform boots. G— offered to pick me up since I had no car. That seemed fair. I’m pretty sure it was still daylight. We went to a bar on Sunset & I started drinking Southern Comfort figuring, hey- this’ll prove how Method I am. Janis loved Southern Comfort. Being broken & freewheeling. People loved identifying with her pain & her mess. I can remember him driving me back to Zoe’s place & me saying not to come up but really what I recall is suddenly having this huge guy overpowering me and me saying the word “NO” quite clearly. He won I guess. When we woke up I vaguely remember some form of a goodbye on his part like we’d had a fun night. I was pretty devastated by the whole scene and declined flying back to LA for the screentest. In my head at the time I tried to comfort myself with some of her “get it while you can” shtick or maybe that one about how “freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose/nothing, I mean nothing, honey if it isn't free”; beating myself up for not being clear headed, wondering what the hell had just gone down and if I’d allowed it. But now, I also think of these words of hers to the young girls unsure if to speak up, in awe of those who already have & to the teenager inside me still questioning if my truth is valid enough: “Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.”

A post shared by Natasha Lyonne (@nlyonne) on Oct 15, 2017 at 1:04am PDT

Lyonne wrote that she was auditioning for the starring role in a Janis Joplin biopic being made by a director who she identified as "G-." She had just made the 1998 hit Slums of Beverly Hills and was looking for a role to follow that up with.

"I wanted the part so bad," the 38-year-old Lyonne wrote. "No one knew Janis like I did from the inside out. I'd known her that way since I'd memorized all her lyrics as a little girl actress readying myself for the day I got to play her. And here it was. Slums of Beverly Hills had just come out & I was a hot commodity."

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She claims she met with the director, who was between 35 and 40 years old, in Los Angeles. "G-" had to pick her up from her friend Zoe's house because she didn't have a car.

"That seemed fair. I'm pretty sure it was still daylight. We went to a bar on Sunset & I started drinking Southern Comfort figuring, hey - this'll prove how Method I am. Janis loved Southern Comfort. Being broken & freewheeling. People loved identifying with her pain & her mess," Lyonne wrote. "I can remember him driving me back to Zoe's place & me saying not to come up but really what I recall is suddenly having this huge guy overpowering me and me saying the word 'NO' quite clearly."

She continued, "He won I guess. When we woke up I vaguely remember some form of a goodbye on his part like we'd had a fun night."

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Lyonne wrote that she was "devastated" by the incident. When she returned to New York City, she was called back to Los Angeles for a screen test, but refused it.

"In my head at the time I tried to comfort myself with some of [Joplin's] 'get it while you can' shtick or maybe that one about how 'freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose/nothing, I mean nothing, honey if it isn't free'; beating myself up for not being clear headed, wondering what the hell had just gone down and if I'd allowed it," Lyonne wrote. "But now, I also think of these words of hers to the young girls unsure if to speak up, in awe of those who already have & to the teenager inside me still questioning if my truth is valid enough: 'Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.'"

Lyonne is one of thousands of women who have shared their experiences with sexual assault since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke. Many have used the hashtag #MeToo on social media, following in the footsteps of Alyssa Milano.

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Lyonne started as a child actress in the late 1980s, but is best known for her Emmy-nominated role as Nicky Nichols on Orange is the New Black.