British actress Naomie Harris has opened up about a horrific sexual harassment incident in which a "huge star" groped her during an audition.
Without naming the actor, Naomie confessed in an interview with The Mail on Sunday and said that a "huge star" slid his hand up her skirt while she was reading for a part. What left her aghast was when nobody in the audition room said anything to the actor.
"What was so shocking about it was the casting director was there and the director, and of course no one said anything because he was – he is – such a huge star", Naomie said.
Given the number of sexual harassment cases that have been reported in the entertainment world, Naomie expressed that she feels "very lucky" only to have faced one such incident.
"That was my only #MeToo incident, so I felt very lucky, given how rife that behaviour was", she added.
Naomie feels that a lot has changed since the #MeToo movement erupted and gained momentum in October 2017 after revelations of alleged sexual misconduct against influential film producer Harvey Weinstein.
"Now things have definitely changed. I was on a project where there was a #MeToo incident and there was no hesitation, (the perpetrator) was immediately removed", she said.
In India, the #MeToo movement picked up in Bollywood in 2018 after former actress Tanushree Dutta accused Indian star Nana Patekar of harassing her on a shoot in 2009. He denied the allegations.
The hashtag #MeToo was launched on social media to embolden women to speak publicly about their experience of sexual abuse.