2018
The Journey to the End of the Night star accused former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk of sexual assault during an interview with GQ in February 2018. At the time, Fraser claimed that Berk sexually assaulted him in the summer of 2003. The actor said that Berk’s alleged actions is one of the reasons he stepped away from the spotlight.
Fraser claimed that Berk later apologized for his inappropriate actions, but Berk denied the accusations to GQ at the time. “Mr. Fraser’s version is a total fabrication. My apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual ‘If I’ve done anything that upset Mr. Fraser, it was it was not intended and I apologize,’” he said in a statement. The same month, HFPA announced they were launching their own internal investigation into Fraser’s claims.
Berk was expelled from HFPA’s membership in April 2021 after reportedly sending a racist email to his fellow members. The email apparently was his third strike from HFPA, following the sexual abuse scandal that broke in 2018 and a temporary step back in 2014 after his memoir, With Signs and Wonder, caused a stir amongst his fellow members and painted the organization in a poor light.
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