Blake Lively has come forward with her own experience of sexual harassment in the wake of the ongoing Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal.
Speaking recently to the Los Angeles Times, the “All I See Is You” actress, 30, recalled an encounter with a male makeup artist who allegedly filmed her while she slept.
“He was saying things inappropriately, insisting on putting my lipstick on with his finger,” Lively said. “I was sleeping one night on location and I woke up and he was filming me. I was clothed, but it was a very voyeuristic, terrifying thing to do.”
Though she reported the incident to producers, Lively claimed nothing was done.
“After three months of complaining, they called me into my trailer and said, ‘We need to talk to you.’ I thought, ‘Well finally, they’re going to do something about this man who I had to have touching me all day.’ And they said, ‘Your dog left a poop behind the toilet in your dressing room and our janitor had to pick it up. And this is very serious and we can’t have this happen again,’ ” she said.
It wasn’t until Lively consulted a lawyer that an investigation was finally launched and the makeup artist was taken off the project.
“Our unit production manager wrote him a letter of recommendation because nobody wanted there to be bad blood,” she said.
Lively joins a number of actresses, including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, who have opened up about their own experiences with sexual harassment in Hollywood following the allegations against the disgraced movie mogul.
“That was never my experience with Harvey in any way whatsoever, and I think that if people heard these stories … I do believe in humanity enough to think that this wouldn’t have just continued,” Lively told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. “I never heard any stories like this — I never heard anything specific — but it’s devastating to hear.”
She added, “As important as it is to remain furious about this, it’s important to also say that this exists everywhere, so remember to look everywhere. This isn’t a single incident. This cannot happen, this should not happen, and it happens in every single industry.”
Nearly 30 women have come forward against Weinstein, 65, following the publication of exposés by both the New York Times and the New Yorker.