Film producer Chelsea Winstanely says she was sexually harassed by a colleague on the set of a TV documentary nine years ago.
The 42-year-old – who is married to Thor: Ragnorak director Taika Waititi – made the claims in an emotional interview with The New Zealand Herald on Saturday.
‘I was shocked. We were in a remote location and it was a very intimidating and scary moment. It literally pushed me to a point where I felt paralysed,’ she candidly told the paper.
‘It was a very intimidating and scary moment’: Film producer Chelsea Winstanely has told The New Zealand Herald that she was sexually harassed by a colleague on the set of a TV documentary
Chelsea claims the offender was a male camera operator working on the documentary, which she was directing.
She alleges that she asked to look at a scene he had shot, before he stood behind her and replied: ‘Yeah, bend over more.’
He also reportedly told her she would ‘look good in a maid’s outfit’.
‘I have never talked to the people in charge about how it affected me and what that did for my confidence as a director’: Chelsea pictured with husband Taika Waititi earlier this year
After the incidences, Chelsea complained to both the producer and the series director. She claims they asked whether she wanted the offender fired, which she felt uneasy about.
The New Zealand Herald contacted the series director who confirmed that Chelsea had complained, and stated: ‘My recollection is that the offending crew member was reprimanded for his behaviour and required to leave the set’.
Chelsea says the experience stopped her directing another production for the next eight years.
‘I have never talked to the people in charge about how it affected me and what that did for my confidence as a director,’ she told the newspaper.
High-profile couple: Chelsea and Taika are two of New Zealand’s most famous filmmakers (pictured in 2017)
Chelsea and her husband Taika are two of New Zealand’s most famous filmmakers.
Taika’s 2017 blockbuster Thor: Ragnorak grossed a whopping AU $1.1 billion at the box office.
The couple share daughters Te Kainga, six, and Matewa, two, and are now based primarily in Los Angeles.
LA based: The New Zealand couple now reside in Hollywood with their two daughters (pictured in 2017)