Angela Lansbury on sexual harassment: 'Women sometimes to blame'
The Murder She Wrote star says in an interview that women "must sometimes take blame" for sexual harassment.
Thursday 30 November 2017 03:44, UK
Hollywood veteran Angela Lansbury has come under fire on social media for comments she made on the sexual harassment scandal.
In an interview with the Radio Times, the Murder She Wrote star said "women must sometimes take blame" for sexual harassment.
"There are two sides to this coin," she said, when asked about the scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein and other powerful figures in Hollywood.
"We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us - and this is where we are today," she added.
"We must sometimes take blame, women. I really do think that."
The 92 year old added that she did not think individual victims should be blamed for "being knocked down and raped", and that she hoped the problem "will stop now".
But her comments sparked a wave of outrage on social media, with fans pointing out her "age doesn't give her a free pass".
"My Gran is 88 years old and would never suggest that rape victims 'must sometimes take the blame'," one user wrote.
Another wrote: "Murder She Wrote would have been quite a different show if in each episode Angela Lansbury blamed the victim."
Others recalled how Lansbury starred in the film Gaslight, which addressed the issue of psychological abuse and manipulation.
"Angela Lansbury, star of the 1944 version of Gaslight, which gave us the term 'Gaslighting', has just declared that attractive women share the blame for sexual harassment," one user wrote.
Following the interview Lansbury provided a statement saying there is "no excuse whatsoever" to harass women and she is "devastated" anybody should believe she thinks otherwise.
She said: "There is no excuse whatsoever for men to harass women in an abusive sexual manner. And, I am devastated that anyone should deem me capable of thinking otherwise.
"Those who have known the quality of my work and the many public statements I have made over the course of my life, must know, that I am a strong supporter of Women's Rights.
"Lastly, I would like to add that I am troubled by how quickly and brutishly some have taken my comments out of context and attempted to blame my generation, my age, or my mindset, without having read the entirety of what I said."