Morgan Freeman apologises amid allegations

Revered US actor Morgan Freeman has apologised following allegations levelled against him by multiple women in the US.

CNN spoke to 16 people about Freeman, eight of whom said they had experienced harassment or inappropriate behaviour. Another eight said they had witnessed such conduct.

The report included the account of a production assistant on the 2017 heist film Going In Style, who detailed an incident in which the actor repeatedly tried to lift up her skirt, and asked if she was wearing underwear. She alleged Freeman subjected her to unwanted touching and comments on a near-daily basis on the film.

Several women alleged he made frequent comments about their bodies, or would stare at them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable. Seven described harassment or inappropriate behaviour at Revelations Entertainment, a company he co-founded with Lori McCreary.

One woman who was a manager at Revelations told CNN that sometimes Freeman would “come over to my desk to say hi and he’d just stand there and stare at me. He would stare at my breasts.”
“If I ever passed him he would stare at me in an awkward way, would look me up and down sometimes stopping and just staring,” she said. “One time he stopped, looked me up and down as I walked into a room of people, and everyone burst out laughing. And I literally froze feeling very uncomfortable and one of the people in the office said, ‘Don’t worry, that’s just Morgan.'”

Freeman has apologised to anyone who may have felt “uncomfortable or disrespected” by his behaviour, without acknowledging specific claims.

“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy,” the actor, now 80, said in a statement.

“I apologise to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”

The CNN report also cited accounts by three entertainment reporters of inappropriate remarks they allege Freeman made at press junkets, including the report’s co-author, Chloe Melas, who described Freeman shaking her hand, “not letting go while repeatedly looking her up and down and saying more than once a variation of, ‘I wish I was there’ — and also ‘You are ripe'”.

Freeman is best known for screen titles including The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy, Million Dollar Baby, Madam Secretary and his prolific voiceover work.

Source: ABC, CNN