Ashley Judd has finally come out in the open about being sexually harrassed by a very influential Hollywood executive who abused his power to get to Judd.

Judd talked about the issue in Variety's Power of Women Issue. The actress took the opportunity to help address issues of the power imbalance in the industry and how women -- much like the current pay scale debate -- need to be more active about voicing their concerns sooner rather than later. Judd did not reveal the name of the man in question but did reveal that he was one pf the "industry's most famous, admired-slash-reviled bosses." She gave away details about how he tried to get her to aquiesce, which had a lot to do with his powerful position, and when she drew the line realising he had gone too far. Looking back, Judd suggests that she wished she had just reported him to the cops, and urges young women in the industry to have the courage to do that.

Here's part of the entire excerpt from Variety:

Ashley Judd: "I was sexually harassed by one of our industry's most famous, admired-slash-reviled bosses. I was making "Kiss the Girls" at the time, and here I was, a declared feminist. I had completed a minor in what was then called women's studies, which we now call gender studies. And yet I did not recognize at the time what was happening to me. It took years before I could evaluate that incident and realize that there was something incredibly wrong and illegal about it. And I think that's what's happening in Hollywood with regard to female crew members, above-the-line and below-the-line talent, and pay disparity. We're individually and collectively coming to a realization and acceptance that this is an entrenched part of the reality, and I think that talking about it is essential to the process of becoming aware, accepting that this is reality and then ultimately taking action.

In my example, there was no casting involved. This was just twirling the lasso. I think it's very important to note that I considered myself empowered. He was very stealth and expert about it. He groomed me, which is a technical term - Oh, come meet at the hotel for something to eat. Fine, I show up. Oh, he's actually in his room. I'm like, Are you kidding me? I just worked all night. I'm just going to order cereal. It went on in these stages. It was so disgusting. He physically lured me by saying, "Oh, help me pick out what I'm going to wear." There was a lot that happened between the point of entry and the bargaining. There was this whole process of bargaining-"Come do this, come do this, come do this." And I would say, "No, no, no." I have a feeling if this is online and people have the opportunity to post comments, a lot of the people will say, "Why didn't you leave the room?", which is victim-blaming. When I kept saying no to everything, there was a huge asymmetry of power and control in that room."

Tags
Ashley Judd, Movies