Brendan Fraser says Hollywood bigshot groped him 15 years ago

Brendan Fraser, known for 90s films like George of the Jungle and The Mummy, said a Hollywood bigshot sexually groped him 15 years ago in a GQ interview.

At a luncheon in 2003, Fraser alleged former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), Philip Berk, inappropriately touched him without his consent. The HFPA hosts the Golden Globes every year.

The GQ profiles the rollercoaster of Fraser’s career. After the early 2000s, his career largely stalled. He says part of the reason was this interaction.

‘His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,’ Fraser explained.

It left him feeling panicked and fearful — he never spoke publicly about it until now.

‘I felt ill. I felt like a little kid.’

He finished: ‘I thought I was going to cry.’

Berk, in an emailed statement to GQ, called the actor’s story a ‘total fabrication’.

After the encounter, Fraser’s reps demanded an apology from the HFPA. Berk confirmed and qualified this: ‘My apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual “If I’ve done anything that upset Mr. Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize.”‘
‘Am I still frightened? Absolutely’

Fraser said he became depressed after it happened.

‘I was blaming myself and I was miserable—because I was saying, “This is nothing; this guy reached around and he copped a feel.” That summer wore on—and I can’t remember what I went on to work on next.’

It wasn’t anything particularly memorable. Fraser knows people wonder what happened to his career, but he said he became ‘reclusive’ after his run-in with Berk.

Earlier this year, he watched the Golden Globes with women wearing black for the Time’s Up movement. Berk was at the event — Fraser was not. He said he’s rarely been invited to the Globes since 2003.

Fraser also praised the courage of the numerous women in Hollywood speaking out as he now tells his own story.

‘Am I still frightened? Absolutely. Do I feel like I need to say something? Absolutely. Have I wanted to many, many times? Absolutely. Have I stopped myself? Absolutely.’

The HFPA released an official statement to GSN:

‘The HFPA stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behavior described in this article. Over the years we’ve continued a positive working relationship with Brendan, which includes announcing Golden Globe nominees, attending the ceremony and participating in press conferences. This report includes alleged information that the HFPA was previously unaware of and at this time we are investigating further details surrounding the incident.’

i think its sad not that this sexual encounter and hundreds of others that stars are coming out to say they were sexually assaulted or touched fondled or whatever--i can see if not saying anything about it for a year or two--but after 5 years or longer--if it didnt bother you so much in two years to make a statement about it dont expect any sympathy from me and millions of others when you make it public 10 to 15 years later..suck it up and let it go--

i may not be a movie star or rock star but i am human and was sexually assaulted years ago but ive dealt with it and let it go--i live my life not let it live my life for me-and what i think is sad movie stars corey haim and corey feldman mentioned things happen to them years ago--corey haim is dead now---but it was mentioned and no one acted like it mattered but now years later people want to come out and do it in search for sympathy--its best they let it go-- what good is it going to do them now but ruin a persons life thatwhether they can prove it or not--will ruin their lives forever

There are competing motivations happening now in the culture, and they clash with each other and people tend to view these stories being brought forward in different ways.

Fraiser is a good example. He is coming forward now and he says that his motivation is to add his voice to those of others, mostly women, that are shaking off the shame of being victimized and breaking a culture of silence that has kept such behavior in the shadows. He wants to express solidarity with those that have already come forward and embolden others to tell their stories.

And that is noble and important. BUT - his story can't be ONLY that. By naming names he at the same time throws a shadow over the career of a former HFPA president and puts him in the spotlight. Once you name a perpetrator, you are essentially calling down a public judgement on that person. This may be an unintended consequence in Frasier's mind. For other accusers (I'm thinking of the anonymous woman who detailed her date with Aziz Ansari) the public takedown seems more the primary reason for the accusation.

Anthony Rapp's interview in Buzzfeed about Kevin Spacey seemed to be both - an affirmation of the many women coming forward, as well as an attempt to stop Spacey from getting away with more abuse.

I don't see anyone doing this for sympathy or publicity. That is a common charge that is leveled at accusers - they are doing it to advance their careers or sell stories. Saying you were assaulted or raped is not the kind of thing one tries to get on one's resume.

But that brings us to the dilemma we face every time one of these stories comes out. There are two separate issues for us to process: the pain of the victim and the responsibility of the accused. They are not the same. Victims can suffer real humiliation and violation whether or not that was the intention of the perpetrator. We need to be able to acknowledge and sympathize with their feelings, and then separately asses the intentions and actions of the accused. Honoring the victims feelings does not mean automatically vilifying the person that made them feel that way.

Also, sometimes the victim has already confronted the perpetrator, and have received an apology and acknowledgement that the behavior was wrong. That is the situation with both Frasier and the Aziz Ansari accuser. They both got apologies at the time the incidents happened, yet still came forward to publicly name the accuser later.

That is a level of sophisticated empathy/judgement that is not normally required of the public at large. We are used to heroes and villains and just picking a side and going with it. That doesn't work in this environment.