Brendan Fraseris reflecting on how his alleged experience withsexual assaultaffected him going forward.
In a conversation withLee Cowansurrounding his new movieThe Whalefor Monday’s episode ofCBS Mornings, the 54-year-old actor discussed his claim that former HFPA PresidentPhilip Berksexuallyassaulted him in the summer of 2003. (Berk, 89, disputes the claim.)
According toThe Mummystar, the alleged incident “wascausing me emotional distress; it was causing me personal distress.”
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Brendan Fraser and Lee Cowan.CBS Mornings/Youtube
Fraser has claimed the assault happened when Berk reached out to shake Fraser’s hand on his way out of the Beverly Hills Hotel after a luncheon they both attended there.
“His left handreaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,” Fraser claimed toGQin 2018, when he firstcame forward with the allegation.
Of revealing the alleged incident, Fraser told Cowan, “I spoke up because I saw so many of my friends and colleagues who, at that time, were bravely emerging to speak their truth to power.”
“And I had something to say, too,” theBlast from the Pastactor added.
Berk did not previously respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment about the alleged incident, but hasdenied the assault ever happenedtoThe New York Times.
Brendan Fraser.Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty
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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the nonprofit organization that votes for theGolden Globe Awards—expelled longtime member Berkback in April 2021, after he sent an email to his fellow members calling theBlack Lives Mattermovement a “racist hate movement” and criticizing BLM co-founderPatrisse Cullorsfor buying a home in Topanga Canyon, California.
Last month, Fraser toldGQin a cover profile for the magazine’s Men of the Year issue thathe “will not participate"in theGolden Globes, which are planned for Jan. 10, even if he receives an acting nomination for his much-buzzed-about performance inThe Whale.
“I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” he said.
“It’s because of the history that I have with them. Andmy mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that,” Fraser added.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
