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Natalie Portman Opens Up About Sexual Harassment in Hollywood: ‘I Think Every Woman Has Experienced This’

Natalie Portman onstage during Vulture Festival LA presented by AT&T at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on November 19, 2017 in Hollywood, California.
Natalie Portman onstage during Vulture Festival LA presented by AT&T at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on November 19, 2017 in Hollywood, California.Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

Natalie Portman opened up about harassment in Hollywood and claimed that she, too, has experienced sexual misconduct in the industry.

Related: Hollywood’s Sexual Misconduct Scandals

“I had a producer invite me to go on a private plane with him, with his company somewhere I was going to. And then I was like, ‘Yeah, why wouldn’t I accept a flight on a private plane with a big group of people?’ And I showed up and it was just the two of us and then one bed was made on the plane,” the Oscar winner, 36, recalled during her Vulture Festival panel at the Roosevelt Hotel on Sunday, November 19. “Nothing happened. I was not assaulted. I said, ‘This doesn’t make me comfortable’ and that was respected but was super not OK. That was really unacceptable and manipulative. I was scared.”

The Black Swan actress also spoke candidly about harassment allegations that have come out in Hollywood recently. “There are so many things that we took for granted as part of our world until it changed a month ago,” she continued. “A lot of people have been aware of it for a long time too, but also a lot of things that we just kind of put up with for reasons of maybe just being numb to it from it being so pervasive or people being so upset about it.”

Related: Channing Tatum, Laura Dern, Jane Fonda and More Speak Out Against Harvey Weinstein Amid Sexual Misconduct Scandal

Portman then expressed her support for the women who have come forward with claims. “It’s been great that everybody is finally talking about it,” the Jackie star said. “I think my first reaction when I heard everybody coming out was, ‘Wow, I’m so lucky that I haven’t had this.’ And then, on reflection, I was like, ‘OK, I definitely have never been assaulted, definitely not. But I’ve had discrimination or harassment on almost everything I’ve ever worked on in some way … I think every woman has experienced this kind of discrimination. People commenting on my body all the time to me, from the time I was a child. Things that are not OK and not on the same level of abuse but they have a very comfortable enrichment to discrimination where it’s not something I ever thought was a reportable offense.”

Related: Celebrity Activists!

As previously reported, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Piven, Louis C.K. and many more prominent figures in Hollywood have been accused of sexual harassment during the past month and a half. This all kicked off after the New York Times published an exposé on Weinstein detailing three decades of sexual harassment and assault accusations against the studio exec. Many of the accused men have denied all allegations made against them, although Louis C.K. confirmed the claims in a statement to Us Weekly and apologized for his behavior.

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