Thandie Newton thinks her career was damaged because she refused the sexual advances of Hollywood executives.
The 46-year-old actress said early in her career that agreeing to sleep with producers was “not going to fly” with her, and now — in light of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements — believes her decision to refuse advances meant she wasn’t considered for roles.
Speaking to SiriusXM, she said: “I didn’t realize until recently that it had affected my career. I know this from a number of people because they wouldn’t give it up, they weren’t hired.
“As an actor, not only are you available to working on the movie, you’re also potentially available to what? Have an affair with? Experience groping?
“I had already spoken about how that’s not going to fly with me, so it narrowed my options.”
The “Westworld” star has previously claimed she was once sexually abused by a casting director during her teens, and recently said she found the experience difficult to move past, as she felt “worthless” and “ashamed” for a long time.
She said: “The sense of worthlessness, shame — these things are very hard to move on from. But you can.”
Newton now wants to make sure her young children — Ripley, 18, Nico, 14, and Booker, 5, whom she has with husband Ol Parker — understand how “important and possible it is to change,” as she wants them to grow up with a respect for the “responsibility” they have not to “hurt anybody.”
The Solo: A Star Wars Story actress added: “One of the things I relish in life is taking responsibility for the things I have inadvertently or otherwise done that have hurt anybody. Particularly with my children, I want them to see how important and possible it is to change.”
