Reese Witherspoon reveals she was assaulted by a director

Reese Witherspoon revealed she was assaulted by a director aged just 16, at the ELLE Women in Hollywood event on Monday night.

The actress, 41, admitted she was ‘truly disgusted’ by the incident, and went on to confess she had been subject to ‘multiple experiences of harassment’ throughout her career.

However, the Legally Blonde star continued her empowering speech by stating she felt ‘less alone’ and ‘more encouraged’ than ever – after more than 30 actresses came forward to reveal Harvey Weinstein’s sexually abusive behaviour this month.

 

Traumatic: Reese Witherspoon revealed she was assaulted by a director aged just 16, at the Elle Women in Hollywood event on Monday night (above)

In the past: She revealed she had been sexually abused by a director while underage, and was made to feel like she could not speak out about the incident (pictured in 1999)

Speaking at the event, held in Beverly Hills, Reese began: ‘This has been a really hard week for women in Hollywood, for women all over the world, and a lot of situations and a lot of industries are forced to remember and relive a lot of ugly truths.

‘I have my own experiences that have come back to me very vividly and I find it really hard to sleep, hard to think, hard to communicate a lot of the feelings that I’ve been having about anxiety, and guilt for not speaking up earlier.’

Continuing to detail her traumatic experience, she explained that she had been sexually abused by a director while underage, and was made to feel like she could not speak out about the incident, without risking her career. 

Speaking out: The actress, who attended with her daughter Ava (above), went on to confess she had been subject to ‘multiple experiences of harassment’ throughout her career

She continued: ‘I feel true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16-years-old, and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment.’

More shockingly, she went on to confess it was not the only time she had been subject to abuse as an actress – like many others in the industry.

Reese said’I wish I could tell you that was an isolated incident in my career, but sadly it wasn’t. I’ve had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault and I don’t speak about them very often.’

Heartbreaking: She said onstage: ‘I feel true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16-years-old, and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment’

However, she went on to state she had felt more empowered than ever this week by the ‘brave’ actresses who came forward about Weinstein – and felt inspired to speak out about her own experiences. 

She added: ‘After hearing all the stories these past few days and hearing these brave women speak up tonight about things we’re told to sweep under the rug, it’s made me want to speak up and speak up loudly.

‘Because I actually felt less alone this week than I have ever felt in my entire career.’

Inspired: She went on to state she had felt more empowered than ever by the ‘brave’ actresses who came forward about Weinstein – and felt ready to speak out (pictured with Nina Garcia)

Empowering: She went on to urge others to go public with their cases of abuse – both for the future generation of actresses but also themselves, as revealing the truth will help them ‘heal’ (pictured with Storm Reid)

She went on to urge others to go public with their cases of abuse – both for the sake of the future generation of actresses but also themselves, as admitting the truth will allow them to ‘heal’.

She continued: ‘I have just spoken to so many actresses and writers, particularly women, who have had similar experiences and many of them have bravely gone public with their stories. 

‘That truth is very encouraging to me and everyone out there in the world because you can only heal by telling the truth.

Standing strong: She finished by stating: ‘I feel really, really encouraged that there will be a new normal. For the young women in this room, life is going to be different because we’re with you’ (pictured with Hong Chau) 

‘I feel really, really encouraged that there will be a new normal. For the young women in this room, life is going to be different because we’re with you, we have your back and it makes me feel better.’

Reese spoke out about the abuse of women in Hollywood at the event alongside Jennifer Lawrence – who slammed Weinstein’s behaviour as ‘inexcusable’ last week.

In her own speech, the Hunger Games star revealed she was once forced by a female director to partake in a naked line-up with five other women, who were ‘much, much skinnier’ than her. 

Shocking: Jennifer Lawrence also revealed at the event she was ‘degraded and humiliated’ by Hollywood executives who forced her to lose weight for film roles

Crash diet: Jennifer revealed she was once forced by a female director to partake in a naked line-up with five women ‘much skinnier’ than her, to shame her into losing weight (pictured the year of her breakthrough role, 2010)

She then revealed she was asked to use the incident to lose weight, revealing onstage: ‘After that degrading and humiliating line-up, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet.’ 

Their comments come one week after the shocking allegations about Harvey Weinstein came to light – with over 30 actresses accusing him of sexual harassment, four of which include rape.

Those recalling his inappropriate behaviour include Rose McGowan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cara Delevingne, Angelina Jolie and Kate Beckinsale, as well as a string of other young actresses and models. 

Weinstein, 65, has given a statement to The New York Times apologising for his behavior but is insisting through his former attorney Lisa Bloom that he had never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity. 

Inspired: The Legally Blonde star’s comments come after more than 30 actresses came forward to reveal Harvey Weinstein’s sexually abusive behaviour (above) 

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