美国国家公共电台 NPR Women Accuse Morgan Freeman Of Harassment, Inappropriate Behavior, CNN Reports

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is the latest in a string of influential¹ Hollywood figures to be accused of sexual harassment². Freeman is best known for his roles in films like "Driving Miss Daisy," "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Million Dollar Baby." CNN is reporting that eight people have accused Freeman of harassment and inappropriate behavior.

NPR's Laurel Wamsley has been following the developments for us. She's here in the studio. And, Laurel, first just summarize the allegations against Mr. Freeman.

LAUREL WAMSLEY, BYLINE³: All right, so there's eight people who allege⁴ either inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment from him. And what they describe is basically a pattern of behavior of sexual comments, awkward staring, looking at women up and down and making comments about their bodies. And he apparently⁵ did this both with staff at his production company - people who worked on the sets of the movies he was in - as well as journalists covering those movies.

CORNISH: We mentioned CNN has this story. And in fact, a CNN reporter herself says she was harassed⁶ by Freeman. Can you tell us about that?

WAMSLEY: Right. So the reporter, Chloe Melas, was covering the release of his film "Going In Style" last year when she had what she describes as a very awkward interaction with him.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHLOE MELAS: Right when I walked into the room, he began making sexually suggestive comments to me. Now, as an entertainment reporter for over a decade, it was unlike anything I truly have ever experienced. In this comment that's on tape, he says to me, boy, do I wish I was there while looking me up and down.

WAMSLEY: And in the video of that interaction, you can see he's flanked by his costars Michael Caine and Alan Arkin, and they actually look over at him when he makes those comments. And she said it was this experience - she was six months pregnant at the time that he was making these comments towards her - that she decided⁷ to look to see if other women had had the same sort of experience with Freeman.

CORNISH: And reportedly she did, right? What did they tell her about their interactions with Morgan Freeman?

WAMSLEY: Right. So there are a number of incidents recounted in the CNN story, and they range from one production assistant who says he repeatedly raised her skirt and asked if she was wearing underwear until a colleague, Alan Arkin, finally asked Freeman to stop it.

A senior member of the production staff on another movie reported that she and other women she worked with stopped wearing fitting clothing because every time Freeman walked by, he would make these sorts of comments. It was - it's a lot of things like that - just a lot of comments and making people feel uncomfortable.

CORNISH: CNN also reported that they spoke⁸ to people who observed harassment by Freeman. What is behind that?

WAMSLEY: That's right. So there's another eight people who say they observed this sort of behavior from him, and this includes men who worked at his production company, Revelations Entertainment, as well. And they describe behavior like seeing Freeman massaging⁹ the shoulders of an intern¹⁰ and making these comments.

And colleagues described a strange happening at Morgan Freeman's birthday party for his 79th birthday where he told everyone - all the employees to line up and introduce themselves. And then in front of each of the women, he would stand in front of them about an inch away from their faces and just stare at them, which he did not do to the men.

CORNISH: How has Morgan Freeman responded so far?

WAMSLEY: Well, in a statement to NPR, this is what he said. Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows that I am not someone who would intentionally¹¹ offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected. That was never my intent.

So it's not clear whether he is denying the allegations or just saying he was misunderstood.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Laurel Wamsley. Thanks so much.

WAMSLEY: Thank you.

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 massaging   

按摩，推拿( massage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He watched the prisoner massaging his freed wrists. 他看着那个犯人不断揉搓着刚松开的两只手腕。
• Massaging your leg will ease the cramp. 推拿大腿可解除抽筋。

10 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

11 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。