Twitter Lashes out at Angela Lansbury for Controversial Remarks About Sexual Harassment

Angela Lansbury’s opinion on the victim’s role in sexual harassment has put the 92-year-old in hot water with fans.

The Murder, She Wrote actress told Radio Times that women must “sometimes take blame” for being sexually harassed due to making themselves “look as attractive as possible.”

“There are two sides to this coin,” she said. “We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us — and this is where we are today.”

“We must sometimes take blame, women. I really do think that,” she added. “Although it’s awful to say we can’t make ourselves look as attractive as possible without being knocked down and raped.”

Lansbury’s controversial comments come on the heels of dozens of sexual assault allegations against Hollywood heavyweights, including film producer Harvey Weinstein, actors Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Piven and others.

But to round out her comments, the Beauty and the Beast actress said she never suffered any kind of harassment during her career and that individual women were not to blame for what they may have endured.

“Should women be prepared for this? No, they shouldn’t have to be!” she said. “There’s no excuse for that. And I think it will stop now — it will have to. I think a lot of men must be very worried at this point.”

Lansbury’s take on the hot-button issue didn’t go over well with many fans, while others rushed to offer support or clarification on the distinguished entertainer’s comments.

Check out the variety of heated reactions below.

Criticism of Lansbury’s comments:

Many Twitter users used their voices to blast the elderly actress for her opinion, accusing her of “victim blaming” rather than pointing fingers at predators. 

They also tackled head-on the defense that Lansbury — who lived through decades of social progression — was raised in a “different generation.”

Others pointed out that Lansbury’s role in the 1944 film Gaslight brought the term “gaslighting” into the modern vocabulary.

Gaslighting is known as a form of manipulation that aims to fill others’ minds with doubt, leaving them to question their own memory or perception. In this case, critics claim Lansbury is placing blames on victims, which may cause them to wonder if they were, in fact, to blame for any suffering they endured.

Some were afraid to see Lansbury’s name trending on Twitter, worried that she’d followed stars like Della Reese in death this year. Instead, they were arguably more upset at what they saw.

‘Murder, She Wrote’ parallels:

As lead character Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, Lansbury played a mystery author-turned-amateur detective who solved crimes in Maine. 

Some users pointed out that the drama, which aired from 1984-1996, would’ve been much different had Fletcher shared the same views as the actress who portrayed her.

Others used her role as Fletcher to defend her opinion, pulling footage from the show.

And some, who appreciate Lansbury’s decades of contributions to the entertainment industry, just want to give the elderly woman a pass.

Defense of Lansbury:

And some, whether they agreed with the actress’ opinion or not, came to Lansbury’s defense. Many cited her age as a reason to let her comments slide.

Some fans were confused why Lansbury’s personal opinion was being questioned at all. They claimed that her 92 years of life experience helped her to form her take on the controversial issue and that others shouldn’t try to force her to conform, or slam her for speaking out.

One user pointed out the controversial nature of the questions Lansbury was likely asked to elicit her response. He claimed that the media asked an “old lady” to comment on an issue like the mounting allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding modern culture, only to throw her “under the bus” under the guise of news.

Lansbury has not responded to the criticism she has received following her initial interview.