Actor Matthew Lawrence claimed Thursday that he was sexually harassed by a prominent Hollywood director.
Lawrence, 43, opened up about the experience during a recent episode of his podcast “Brotherly Love,” which he co-hosts with his brothers, fellow actors Joey and Andrew Lawrence.
“There’s been many times in my life where I’ve been propositioned to get a huge role,” Lawrence told the audience. “I lost my agency because I went to the hotel room” where, the actor alleges, a prominent director “showed up in his robe, asked me to take my clothes off, said he needed to take Polaroids of me and said if I did X, Y and Z, I would be the next Marvel character.”
Though he did not name the agency in the podcast episode, he claimed that those in control of the company ended up firing him for leaving the hotel room. He went on to say that although the #MeToo movement has done wonders for women in Hollywood, the male experience has been significantly overlooked.
“Not a lot of guys in my opinion have come out and talked about this in the industry,” he noted. “Now granted, it’s probably about a third of what women go through. Men go through this as well… I think our society is less ready to hear that situation is going on with men than they are with women.” (RELATED: Two Women Accuse Contestant From Major Reality Show Of Sexual Assault In Lawsuit)
One of the few actors who has come out publicly about their alleged experiences of sexual harassment is Brendan Fraser. Fraser claimed in a GQ Article that he was groped by former president of Hollywood Foreign Press Association Philip Berk, who has emphatically denied the allegations.