Martha Stewart has revealed that she was sexually harassed while working as a model when she was 16 years old.
The now 76-year-old told People that she had been asked to wear a bikini to a ‘go-see’ audition with an advertising agency for a modelling job.
Stewart, who was still in high school at the time, said she was harassed by the advertising company executive as soon as she walked into the room.
Martha Stewart has revealed that she was sexually harassed by an advertising company executive while working as a model when she was 16 years old
‘I was asked to wear a bikini under my clothes. I thought, ‘Oh, maybe we’re doing a beach commercial or something,’ Stewart said of the ordeal.
‘So I go into the room and there’s a table with all men sitting around it and it’s an advertisement agency, I can’t remember which one it was.
‘They said, ‘Now you can take your clothes off,’ and I said, ‘Oh, is this where are we doing the commercial? Are we wearing bikinis in the commercial.’ They said, ‘No, but as long as you’re here we might as well see what you look like.’
‘I thought that was harassment of the first order.’
A quick-thinking Stewart said she handled the situation by simply walking out of the room.
Stewart, pictured above modelling in Glamour in 1961, said she was harassed by the unnamed advertising company executive as soon as she walked into the room
Stewart, who is currently hosting a hit cooking show with Snoop Dogg, is one of the many high profile women speaking out about harassment in show business in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal
‘I said, ‘I’m sorry, gentleman. This is not what I’m here for.’ And I left,’ she said.
She said she believed the core values she learned from her family gave her strength to react that way.
‘I think women just have to understand that you can say no,’ she said. ‘You can walk out of a room. It might hurt your career so you’ll find something better somewhere else.’
Stewart, who is currently hosting a hit cooking show with Snoop Dogg, is one of the many high profile women speaking out about harassment in show business in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Rose McGowan, Asia Argento and Gwyneth Paltrow are among those to have claimed abuse or harassment at the hands of the Hollywood producer.
Harvey Weinstein has been accused by a number of Hollywood stars – including Rose McGowan, Asia Argento and Gwyneth Paltrow – of sexual abuse or harassment