Anna Faris has opened up about a distressing experience she had with a male director earlier in her career.
Speaking on her Unqualified podcast, the actress revealed that an unnamed director slapped her backside “so hard” on the set of a movie early in her career.
“I was doing a scene where I was on a ladder and I was supposed to be taking books off a shelf and he slapped my a– in front of the crew so hard,” she said on Tuesday. “And all I could do was giggle.”
“I remember looking around and I remember seeing the crew members being like, ‘Wait, what are you going to do about that? That seemed weird.’ And that’s how I dismissed it. I was like, ‘Well, this isn’t a thing. Like, it’s not that big of a deal. Buck up, Faris. Like, just giggle,’” she recalled. “But it made me feel small. He wouldn’t have done that to the lead male.”
“We’re conditioned to giggle,” she continued. “But also, if we were to do anything else, we’d be labeled a bitch or difficult. That would be the best of circumstances. I guess what I do is I laugh. It puts everyone at ease. That’s the defence mode you go into.”
She also said the director told her agent that she was chosen for the part because of her “great legs.”
“I remember that same director telling my agent, who told me, that I had great legs and that was one of the reasons that I got hired,” she revealed. “And listen, that’s a f—ing great compliment. I like my legs. But that sort of informed my whole experience with that whole project. I don’t think the male lead got hired because he had great legs.”
She added: “Therefore I felt like I’m hired because of these elements — not because of [talent].”
Anna, 40, is the latest star to come forward with a story about their experiences with sexual harassment in Hollywood, with Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon and Cara Delevigne all having previously added their voice to the chorus.
Of course, it follows the accusations that Harvey Weinstein harassed dozens of women over the course of almost three decades.
WATCH: Relive Anna’s hilarious appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Post continues…
On August 7 this year, Anna confirmed that her marriage to Chris Pratt had come to an end.
“We tried hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed,” the couple said in a statement.
“Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward.”
“We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another. Chris Pratt and Anna Faris,” it concluded.
Since tying the knot in 2009, Chris and Anna fast became one of the most adored couples in Hollywood. They are the proud parents to their four-year-old son Jack Pratt.
