Morgan Freeman is seen making creepy sexual comments to female reports in more unearthed interviews that have surfaced.
The Entertainment Tonight staff went back through many of their past interviews with the actor and discovered some concerning moments where he expressed inappropriate behavior with female journalists.
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Among the interviews, they discovered one from when Freeman was promoting London Has Fallen in 2016 where he asked ET correspondent Ashley Crossan if she “fooled around with older guys.”
Another interview from 2015 that was uncovered revealed the 80-year-old actor commenting on ET special correspondent Janet Mock’s outfit, saying, “I don’t know how you all manage to do that all the time.
“You got a dress halfway between your knee and your hips, and you sit down right across from me and you cross your legs,” Freeman later added.
Mock, who is also a writer and activist, provided a new statement on the unearthed interview, telling ET, “This interaction is an exhibition of the casual nature at which men in positions of power believe that everything belongs to them, including women’s bodies as they’re merely just trying to do their job.”
“For me, as a young woman of color, who is a reporter and a fan of popular culture, I was deeply disappointed that someone who was seen as America’s grandfather was susceptible to such disturbing behavior and felt comfortable enough to do that as cameras were rolling, and that he could take claim of my body and look at it before even looking into my eyes,” Mock continued.
Earlier this week, multiple women who have worked with Freeman on some of his films have come forward to claim that he committed various sexually inappropriate acts against them, such as repeatedly trying to lift the skirt of one production assistant.
Those specific incidents took place on the set of the 2012 film Going In Style, and it reportedly became so bad that Freeman’s co-star “Alan [Arkin] made a comment telling him to stop.” The woman then added, “Morgan got freaked out and didn’t know what to say.”
Another woman, who worked on the crew of 2012s Now You See Me, told CNN that 80-year-old Freeman not only harassed her, but a number of other women on set.
“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.”
The news outlet further reports that they spoke with a total of 16 people, eight of whom detailed personal incidents of what they defined as sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior. CNN goes on to add, however, that all 16 provided information that helped to outline what appears to be a pattern of harassment behavior on part of the actor.
Freeman has released a statement in response to the allegations, saying, “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”
