Rebel Wilson says that after being sexually harassed by a male co-star while working on a film before the #MeToo movement swept Hollywood, she “made sure people knew what happened” among Hollywood’s industry circles, resulting in him trying “to destroy me and my career. “
In a new interview with People magazine, the Senior Year star – who also has a law degree from the University of New South Wales – recalled being sexually harassed by an unnamed male co-star, who after calling at her into a room and pulling “down his pants,” at another point asked in front of his friends for her to “perform a lewd act.”
“It was awful and disgusting,” she said. “And all the behavior afterwards – this was all before #MeToo – where they kind of tried to destroy me and my career. If it had happened after #MeToo, then I could have just blasted them. “
Wilson went on to say that her legal background helped motivate her to document it with various parties. “I called my rep. I got certain things in writing about what happened, ”she said. “Definitely amongst industry circles, I made sure people knew what happened.”
She said after taking her complaint to her agency and the studio, something she described as “a big step,” she discovered others had also reported him.
“I found out I was like the fourth person to complain about the guy,” she said. “Such gross behavior, but a lot of women have had it way worse.”
Despite reporting, Wilson said she still grapples with her response, even asking why she stayed in that working situation “with that awful guy?”
“I should have left. It wasn’t worth it. But at the same time, I was like, ‘Oh well, do the right thing, be a professional and finish the movie.’ Now I would never do that, ”she explained. “If it happened again, I would probably stand up for myself even more just because of the bravery of the other women that have stood up and now allowed me an opportunity.”