One of the women cited as an accuser of Morgan Freeman has spoken out, saying that her remarks were taken out of context.
Tyra Martin was among the women identified in a CNN report about Freeman’s misconduct over the years. Various women accused the icon of everything from inappropriate jokes to harassment, with one woman saying that Freeman tried repeatedly to lift up her skirt. The report cited 16 women, saying that eight of them had identified themselves as victims of Freeman’s behavior.
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However, Martin now says that CNN misrepresented her comments. She reached out to TMZ in the hopes of clarifying, saying that she had received an onslaught of messages from people defending Freeman.
“Hey, still getting a lot of nasty messages from people who think I AM one of the accusers,” she wrote. “I’m not, never was. CNN totally misrepresented the video and took my remarks out of context.”
In the report, Martin told CNN reporters about how he had a tendency to fixate on women’s clothing in conversation. She said that she conducted hours of interviews with Freeman for press junkets promoting his films. He would often make suggestive comments about her clothes, but she said that she was always “in on the joke.” However, there was one incident where CNN said that Martin felt the actor had crossed a line.
“When I stood up, I pulled my skirt part of my dress down and he did say, ‘Oh, don’t pull it down now.’” Martin said. “That gave me pause but I never felt uncomfortable.”
Martin now feels that the account sensationalized her experience with Freeman.
The 80-year-old is the latest to face a string of allegations dating back years. He has reportedly developed a pattern of harassment in the workplace that makes his female co-workers deeply uncomfortable. He has now made two public statements defending himself from these accusations.
Freeman called the stories published by CNN “misplaced compliments or humor,” and doesn’t believe it comes anywhere close to the sexual harassment and assault that other men have been accused of in the Me Too movement.
“I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye,” he said. “It is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humor.”
Freeman’s recent Visa commercials have already been pulled off the air due to the bad press.
