Actress Anna Faris has accused Ivan Reitman, whom she worked with on the set of My Super Ex-Girlfriend, of abusive behavior and bullying.
“One of my hardest film experiences was with Ivan Reitman,” the Mom alum, 45, alleged in a Wednesday, October 19, episode of her “Anna Faris Is Unqualified” podcast. “I mean, the idea of attempting to make a comedy under this, like, reign of terror, he was a yeller. He would bring down somebody every day … and my first day, it was me.”
Faris spoke with guest Lena Dunham, claiming that Reitman “slapped my ass” in public and frequently yelled at her when they worked together on My Super Ex-Girlfriend.
The House Bunny actress starred as Hannah Lewis in the romantic comedy, opposite Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson. The movie — which was released in July 2006 — follows Wilson’s Matt Saunders break up with Thurman’s Jenny Johnson over her clinginess. In retaliation, Jenny uses her newly discovered superpowers to get revenge on her former beau. Faris, for her part, played Matt’s coworker and new crush.
The Maryland native’s first day on set featured a fight scene between her and Thurman, now 52. However, production was allegedly delayed after “a big jar of wig glue” was spilled on Faris in the makeup trailer.
“I was terrified truly that Ivan thinks I’m some kind of diva for not coming out of my trailer,” Faris said of the late Ghostbusters director, who died in February at the age of 75, before detailing her filming experience. “I’m, like, in the middle of the street that’s all lit, it’s a night shoot, and Ivan is just taking me down. He was just like ‘Annie!’ — he always called me Annie — he’s like ‘you can’t play like that around here!’ — and I was like ‘don’t do it, don’t cry, no crying,’ and I felt angry and hurt and humiliated and defensive.”
The What’s Your Number? star even noted that she asked Reitman if he had heard about the wardrobe snafu, which prompted him to eventually be quiet as he returned to his perch behind the camera. She added: “But then later he slapped my ass, too. That was a weird moment.”
The Girls alum, 36, said that Faris is not the first actress to share their story about working with Reitman, but the Overboard actress felt she was unable to come forward at the time because “it was 2006.”
Faris previously told a similar story of workplace harassment during an October 2017 episode of her “Unqualified” podcast.
“I was doing a scene where I was on a ladder and I was supposed to be taking books off a shelf and he slapped my ass in front of the crew so hard,” the Scary Movie star said at the time without mentioning the filmmaker’s name. “And all I could do was giggle. I remember looking around and I remember seeing the crew members being like, ‘Wait, what are you going to do about that? That seemed weird.’ And that’s how I dismissed it.”
She continued: “I was like, ‘Well, this isn’t a thing. Like, it’s not that big of a deal. Buck up, Faris. Like, just giggle.’ But it made me feel small. He wouldn’t have done that to the lead male.”
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you have experienced sexual assault, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for confidential support.
