As I said yesterday, I wasn’t shocked by CNN’s exclusive about Morgan Freeman. In the #MeToo era, there have been “outings” of sexual predators which have shocked me, like Tom Brokaw or Dustin Hoffman (but even Hoffman wasn’t that big of a surprise, come to think of it). What’s scary is how “outed” predators or harassers just have a feel of inevitability, like “I’m so glad #MeToo is happening because now we can finally say all of this sh-t out loud, I always knew that guy was terrible.” I’m thinking: Harvey Weinstein, TJ Miller, Brett Ratner, Louis CK, Matt Lauer, Bryan Singer, etc.
While I didn’t know that Morgan Freeman was a serial sexual harasser, we’ve known for years that he had some kind of deeply inappropriate sexual relationship with the late E’Dena Hines, his step-granddaughter. That story came out in 2009, and it made its way through the tabloid press quietly, with Morgan Freeman doing very little to dispel the rumors. I guess my point is… once you believe the E’Dena story, you’ll probably believe everything else you hear about Freeman. So, yes, I believe the women. Yes, I believe the witnesses to the harassment. And no, I don’t believe Freeman’s bulls–t apology:
“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.”
This is bare bones. I doubt it was even written by him – it sounds like some junior publicist copied it verbatim out of The Crisis Management Handbook. So, no, I don’t believe him. He’s not sorry. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong. Now the question becomes: what, if any, are the repercussions? SAG-AFTRA issued this statement:
“These are compelling and devastating allegations which are absolutely contrary to all the steps that we are taking to insure a safe work environment for the professionals in this industry. Any accused person has the right to due process, but it is our starting point to believe the courageous voices who come forward to report incidents of harassment. Given Mr. Freeman recently received one of our union’s most prestigious honors recognizing his body of work, we are therefore reviewing what corrective actions may be warranted at this time.”
Yeah, SAG-AFTRA literally gave Freeman their Lifetime Achievement Award this year. How embarrassing.
Also: Freeman was the voice of various Visa ad campaigns worldwide. Vancouver’s transit authority has already pulled the ad-announcements which would have been heard on Metro Vancouver.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
One of the WORST sexual harassment encounters that I EVER had in my LIFE…was with a “Dirty Old Man” a couple of year’s ago…and even THINKING ABOUT IT…leaves me wanting to CATCH A CASE!!! This whole situation is just a big old trigger…and he can KICK ROCKS with that apology…and I was done with him after 2009 anyway….And NO…he doesn’t think what he did was wrong…he’s just another man who thinks that women are ONLY there to serve HIM!
Ugh I’m so sorry you went through that. I cannot stand how people excuse and condone inappropriate male behavior because “he’s just a dirty old man” as if old dudes don’t know any better.
Sorry for you Lala-I’ve had the dirty old man,he’s from that era,just overlook it,cause he doesn’t know BS happen to me too.Blamed myself,felt dirty and all that.Sadly I was raised in a household where that behavior was accepted because powerful white men with money do no wrong you know…So glad we’re still talking about this I don’t know any woman who has not been a victim in some way or other.
It’s like the Gods are determined to destroy all of my favorite movies…. Bye-bye Shawshank.
Nice to see immediate action is happening though.
😫💔Shawshank
I think being a serial harasser and being Harvey Weinstein are different. He was inappropriate with women but as far as we know did not rape anyone. I can still watch him on screen because most men his age are inappropriate to young women.
He is not canceled. I am disappointed.
I would also like to know the race of the women this happened with. I am sorry but I doubt any of the women were brown. We tend not to complain about successful men of color.
Unfortunately I think most men PERIOD are inappropriate with women at one point or another in their lives. I can’t cancel Freeman because I love a few of his movies. Is it possible to think a guy is crap, but still enjoy his art? That is what I’ve been struggling with lately as more and more actors have disappointed me.
The bar is depressingly low, isn’t it?
Why do you have to cancel the movie because of one performer? I highly doubt there is any film, book, TV show that doesn’t have at least one criminal touching the production somewhere along the line. Given the statistics, all of us probably work at a company with a criminal somewhere in the mix.
I’m not sure anything could ever cancel Shawshank for me. It’s just too great. I can think Morgan Freeman is a skeevy old perv and still love the movie. It should be noted that I’ve yet to test out this theory on any Kevin Spacey movies that I previously enjoyed.
To be fair, not everyone believes the step-granddaughter story. They actually DID try to deny those rumors (both him AND her) and this is a case of one of those “once the rumor is out it’s impossible to change people’s minds” things. In that, I feel bad for him (more for his granddaughter because she had to live and die with that disgusting rumor still being passed around)
That said, I 100% believe the victims here about him being a dirty old man and a serial sexual harasser. He’s cancelled.
I’ll have to look and see if that story came from other relatives, or just the tabloids. I vaguely remember hearing about it a few years ago, but forgot about it. It seems like there are few lines that won’t be crossed when it comes to celebrity gossip, but false incest rumors involving a teenager seems like it would be a new low.
Oy, this one hurts. I believe the women. And believe he should be punished. This was not about “unintentionally” hurting someone’s feelings; you put your hand up someone’s skirt, you pig! But, it still hurts …
No! Please not Morgan Freeman
Wait, you mean women don’t like it when you touch them without their permission??? “I’m sorry that me abusing my position and authority made you uncomfortable. I thought women would be flattered by my sexual comments. I thought I was being charming.” 🙄🙄
This totally. They will never, ever get it.
No kitten They don’t get it.We are supposed to be flattered that some aging pig thinks we’re attractive.Some aging old scum who never had a snowballs chance in hell
He’s creeped me out for years now but it’s still a big disappointment.
Me too. I had forgotten about the ’09 accusation, since it was quickly swept under the rug, but I’ve gotten a vibe from him for years. That’s why I’ve never seen Shawshank despite liking the story!
Oh, PLEASE.
What an incredibly lame non-apology.
I’m very sorry for the victims – I wonder how many of them were turned off from the business after that experience. It had to be sickening to watch him be so revered and awarded.
I am very glad they feel able to speak about it now, and I hope they find strength in each other.
How well put Lucy 2, you said everything that needs to be said in situations like this one.
It’s inevitable that even celebrities/newsmen/executives we like will be outed in MeToo, because they’re all men who feel entitled. And feelings of entitlement lead to stupidity. I believe there are varying degrees of piggishness, and that some of these guys will deserve harsher consequences than others. But they all deserve to be called out; otherwise, nothing will change.
If I hear I hear another person use the “If apologize to everyone who might have felt” or another variation my head is going to explode.
Genuinely apologize or shut up. It’s become trite. It’s a transparent & disingenuous attempt to derail this discussion.
It is a smokescreen to reframe their actions & discredit the victims. However it’s backfiring in their faces. It fuels the flame by reaffirming the accusers’ assertions.
I came hear to say the same thing. The “sorry if you were offended” non-apologies are far more offensive than if they’d just not apologised at all.
Wow, what a non-apology. This guy is a cancelled creep!
I have fibromyalgia. He’s one of the celebs that also have this condition. I’ve had a bad pain week and for the first time I’ve just been thinking “I HOPE YOU HAVE THE WORST FLAREUPS”. This is something I’d normally never wish on anyone. But I do get a little bit of joy KNOWING the kind of pain he’s dealing with.
Hi Erinn, I have another set of two autoimmune illnesses. I would just like to share a book I read which was quite helpfully:
The immune system recovery plan from Dr. Susan Blum.
Scylla74 – thanks! I will look into this. Take care, I feel your pain <3
This one hurts, and I hate to be the person who says he wasn’t like that to me. However, I did work with his movie publicist twice with him. He was one of the easiest and nicest actors I ever worked with, and honestly I didn’t see this one coming. Tim Robbins was actually a bit more particular. Morgan was just sweet. I’m not saying I don’t believe the woman, just saying it is shocking. Makes me sad.
It’s okay, Noway. Don’t feel bad. You should be able to share the fact that you personally were not harassed or abused by him without that being either used to discredit women who were victimized by him or without that being interpreted as you throwing other women under the bus. Harassers and other creeps don’t always go around treating every woman the same way.
Tried by social media. This is mass hysteria by women and going over the top. If the women were offended tell him to stfu. Where do we draw the line? He’s not Harvey W. Or Bill Cosby.
I agree it makes sense to acknowledge there is a sexual abuse spectrum, but there’s no need to draw a line. From making a one-time childish, stupid inappropriate remark all the way up to harassment, indecency, abuse and violence—it all needs to stop. Looks like Freeman had a chronic problem and, at the least, made a lot of women feel uncomfortable. That doesn’t get a pass just because he’s not a rapist.