If the allegations leveled against Morgan Freeman on Thursday are true, his behavior reflects a particular kind of misconduct that women are more familiar with than men might realize, making his case one of #MeToo’s most instructive.
Eight women accused Freeman of “what some called harassment and others called inappropriate behavior” in a CNN investigation, credibly depicting the actor as the type of lecherous creep who believes his unsolicited flirtations in the workplace are within the bounds of permissible behavior. And at 80, Freeman came of age in an era when men like that roamed workplaces freely — the “dinosaurs” Harvey Weinstein’s attorney once spoke of — though that’s not an excuse.
Freeman stands accused of subjecting women to a lot of unwanted touching and a lot of graphic sexual quips, like repeatedly telling a pregnant reporter, “I wish I was there,” massaging an intern’s shoulders, making comments about a production assistant’s figure and clothing, conspicuously ogling women, and asking them to twirl for him. That’s just a sampling of the details in CNN’s story, which is based on interviews with sixteen sources.
No, he’s not accused of the more disgusting behavior we’ve heard about recently, such as masturbating in front of female co-workers or assaulting them. But the allegations against Freeman probably sound pretty familiar to a lot of women who’ve worked with men (sometimes very powerful men) who’ve signaled they’re more inclined to see females as sex objects than professionals.
The effect of these men’s behavior is to embarrass, distract, and demoralize women, littering their paths to advancement with hurdles men don’t typically find themselves having to jump. Being asked to twirl by Morgan Freeman is not assault, nor are creepy compliments, or the batted-away wandering hands of an elderly celebrity. But these sorts of milder misconduct do subject women to undue discomfort and distraction. Some handle it well, but there’s no reason they should have to handle it at all.
To be clear, quantifying what proportion of women would say they’ve experienced this specific sort of conduct, or how often they’ve experienced it, is no easy task. Most women don’t go to work in dens of lechery and sexual harassment akin to Sterling Cooper. But if the allegations against Freeman are true, he’s a character many women have encountered.
All this is to say Freeman is another of the #MeToo men whose alleged conduct is not exceptionally rare, but instead still more common than it should be. And therein lies the value of the movement, which is hopefully helping everyone understand what types of conduct should no longer be accepted in the workplace.
Freeman’s not really denying the story either. In a statement issued Thursday, he said, “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.” (Emphasis added.)
Freeman may not have known his graphic sexual quips were making women uncomfortable. But now he does.
