Brendan Fraser says publicly speaking about sexual assault negatively affected his career
The star of Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, Brendan Fraser, has detailed how publicly coming forward with a sexual assault allegation against a Hollywood bigwig negatively affected his career.
Although the resurgent actor has gained plaudits across the board for his role in The Whale, Fraser is best known for his role in The Mummy films. Now, speaking to CBS in a new interview, as well as being “emotional” and in “personal distress” after the alleged incident, Fraser said that going public with the accusations “derailed” future films.
In the interview, host Lee Cohen enquired whether the allegations had changed to course of his career, to which Fraser replied: “Well, yes, because there’s a system in place that is about power. And I had played by the rules up until that point. And I felt like, OK, now, suddenly, I’ve been violated. And it has gone too far. And I will no longer abide this.”
He explained: “It was causing me emotional distress, it was causing me personal distress.” The Whale star then said that the emergence of the Me Too movement convinced him to come forward with his own account. “I spoke up because I saw so many of my friends and colleagues who, at that time, were bravely emerging to speak their truth to power,” he expressed. “And, I had something to say too.”
The sexual assault claim Fraser made is against Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). He first made the allegations public in 2018 during an extensive interview with GQ. He also claimed that this encounter was partially behind such a lengthy absence from acting.
Fraser alleged the assault happened during an HFPA lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003. After detailing what occurred, he said: “I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry. I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me.”
Responding to the allegation on his website, Berk maintained: “Of course the accusation is absurd. Not only would the alleged assault have to have taken place in a crowded room, but I would have to be a Marvel superhero to accomplish such a feat.”
