Natalie Portman has "100 stories" of being sexually harassed in Hollywood.
The ‘Annihilation’ actress admitted the Time’s Up and #MeToo initiatives had made her reassess experiences that she "took for granted as… part of the process" and realise they were instances of inappropriate behaviour.
She admitted: "I went from thinking, ‘I don’t have a story’ to ‘Oh, wait, I have 100 stories.’ And I think a lot of people are having these reckonings with themselves, of things that we just took for granted as like, this is part of the process."
The 36-year-old actress – who has children Aleph, six, and Amalia, 11 months, with husband Benjamin Millepied – recalled one particular incident with an unnamed producer on his private plane.
She told PORTER magazine: "It was just the two of us, and only one bed was made up.
"Nothing happened, I was not assaulted. I did make a point of saying, ‘This does not make me feel comfortable,’ and that was respected. But that was super not OK, you know? That was really unacceptable and manipulative. I was scared."
The ‘Black Swan’ actress believes it is "very important" that Hollywood pays attention to stories of inappropriate behaviour as victims have spent so long not being heard.
She said: "A lot of people have been speaking out for a long time and not been heard, particularly women of color, so it’s very important the industry listens."
Natalie believes women’s careers are not damaged because they choose to have children, but they drop out of the workplace because it can be a "hostile environment".
She said: "But what’s interesting about this harassment conversation is, maybe it has nothing to do with being a mother.
"Maybe women are dropping out of the workplace because it’s a hostile environment for them and they are choosing not to be a part of that. It’s been proven that once you change the power differential and reach a 50/50 ratio of men and women, you see fewer issues."
Natalie Portman has 100 stories of harassment
