Judd: Women will persevere in fighting sexual harassment
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Actress Ashley Judd, whose claims against a Hollywood mogul helped set off an avalanche of sexual harassment allegations, said Friday that the fight against sexual misconduct will be a “chaotic, messy” endeavour, but that women won’t let potential public fatigue about the scandals slow the efforts.
Judd told an audience at the University of Kentucky, her alma mater, that the fight is about “ending impunity.”
Judd said that film mogul Harvey Weinstein harassed her three different times. She discussed one episode in detail: an incident from two decades ago in which she said she was asked to meet Weinstein in his hotel room. Weinstein greeted her wearing a bathrobe and asked if he could give her a massage or if she would watch him shower.
Weinstein was ousted from the movie company he founded following a barrage of sexual harassment allegations that began with a bombshell New York Times article in early October. Since then, numerous prominent men in entertainment, business and politics and the media have been hit with allegations of improper behaviour with women.