Christabel Duah
Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones supports the movement against sexual harassment — but she’s still standing beside her man.
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After her actor husband preemptively denied allegations of sexual misconduct from 30 years ago, Zeta-Jones, 48, shared her reaction to the situation.
RELATED: Michael Douglas puts his family first while denying sexual misconduct allegations from 30 years ago
“My reaction was that as two people who have been in this business — him longer than me — was that we support ‘Me Too’ and the movement more than anybody, anybody – me as a woman, him as a man,” she said to ET on Sunday. “There was no other way than to be preemptive in a story that had to be watched. He did a statement, he did it. I think it’s very clear the way that he stands. I cannot elaborate on something that’s so very personal to him.”
Douglas addressed the allegations that he’d masturbated in front of a female employee with Deadline last week after two publications reportedly reached out to him about possibly publishing the woman’s claims.
“I felt the need to get ahead of this. It pertains to me but I’m also getting a sense of how it reflects in our culture, and what is going on today. I see it as a cautionary tale,” Douglas told the publication. Douglas reported that the woman claimed that he used “colorful language” in front of her, spoke “raunchily or dirtily to friends” on the phone while in front of her, “blackballed her from the industry” after firing her and “masturbated in front of her.”
While Douglas admitted he may have used foul language in the woman’s presence, he denied ever blackballing her, and also said, “Finally, masturbating in front of her? I don’t know where to begin. This is a complete lie, fabrication, no truth to it whatsoever.”
“I pride myself on my reputation in this business, not to mention the long history of my father and everything else. I don’t have skeletons in my closet, or anyone else who’s coming out or saying this,” he said. ” … The part that hurt the worst is having to share something like this to your wife and your children. My kids are really upset, has to go to school worrying this is going to be in some article about me, being a sexual harasser.”
As for the other victims and accusers sharing their stories, Zeta-Jones encouraged them to continue speaking up.
“We’re seeing changes that have taken many years to even be talked about. It’s an amazing time for women, and I really want women to remember how strong we are in numbers,” she said. “This is going to die down. This is not going to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind forever and ever, and we’re going to have to be kind to each other. We can’t ask everyone else to be kind to us unless we’re kind to each other.”
