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Morgan Freeman is continuing to deny allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
After issuing two statements in which he apologised for offence caused but insisted there was no intentional wrongdoing, the 80-year-old has stepped up his denial.
A 10-page letter sent from his lawyer to CNN, who published the claims of eight women, demands an immediate retraction and apology from the news outlet.
The letter calls CNN’s story a “product of malicious intent, falsehoods, slight-of-hand, an absence of editorial control, and journalistic malpractice.”
It also claims a situation involving CNN reporter Chloe Melas, who says Freeman made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to her at a press event when she was six months pregnant, was a misunderstanding.
The lawyer’s letter concludes “Mr. Freeman is being viewed in the global court of public opinion as someone akin to notorious harassers and accused rapists, such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. CNN had no justification for doing that.”
CNN quickly responded to the legal document, saying:
“CNN stands by its reporting and will respond forcefully to any attempt by Mr. Freeman or his representatives to intimidate us from covering this important public issue.”
Allegations made against the Shawshank Redemption actor include a scenario where he allegedly tried to lift a woman’s skirt up, and other claims of unwanted touching and ogling of women on movie sets.
