Dita Von Teese has "never" had a #MeToo moment at work.
The 46-year-old burlesque dancer has admitted she has had to "navigate" around "inappropriate" behaviour from men in her life, but insists none of the encounters she’s had have ever been "business-related", as she’s always felt safe in her job.
Asked if the #MeToo movement – which aims to end sexual misconduct – has affected her career, she said: "MeToo has never come into my work. I thought about all the MeToo things that have happened to me in my life and they haven’t been business-related. I’ve walked away from deals because I didn’t like somebody or feeling obliged in any way, but as a teenager having to navigate how men in power or older men are around you, I have all kinds of stories. I remember being 15 and people doing or saying inappropriate things."
The former Playboy model thinks it’s "great" that women now feel more confident when it comes to speaking out against sexual abuse, and hopes the conversation continues.
She added: "But I think it’s great that we’re talking about this now. I overheard a young woman recalling being cornered in a public restroom recently and I was like: ‘Wow, we’re talking openly about this now.’ It’s a big, swirling, great conversation."
Dita is considered a feminist icon, and although she "never expected" to be given the title, she understands that her unique sense of "elegance and sensuality" gives people an "alternative" view of feminism.
Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she said: "I never expected burlesque to be a modern feminist movement, but surely it is? The way my career unfolded as a fetish and Playboy model, I was just trying to fill the space with some diversity. I thought: ‘I’m not blonde and tanned, but can I do something interesting in that area?’ Telling my story of finding confidence in glamour and looking to the past for a different kind of elegance and sensuality made me an alternative feminist icon."
Dita Von Teese: I haven’t had a #MeToo moment at work
