Since sexual assault accusations piled up against Harvey Weinstein, numerous celebrities have come forward to show their support for his victims and all assault survivors. Famous females, in particular, are courageously sharing their personal experiences with sexism and harassment in the entertainment industry. Most recently, actresses Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lawrence revealed heartbreaking stories of the sexual harassment they faced early in their careers.
The actresses told their stories at ELLE's Women in Hollywood event on Monday, Refinery29 reports. In her emotional speech, Witherspoon opened up about a director assaulting her when she was 16 years old and being pressured to keep quiet about it.
Lawrence shared her experience of being forced to strip down for a "nude line-up" early in her career. "During this time a female producer had me do a nude line-up with about five women who were much, much, thinner than me," Lawrence said. "We all stood side-by-side with only tape covering our privates. After that degrading and humiliating line-up, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet."
"Every human being should have the power to be treated with respect because they're human." - Jennifer Lawrence #ELLEWIH
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) October 17, 2017
The words came from another woman, which make them all the more gut-wrenching. And the naked scrutiny only continued when a male producer chimed in to call Lawrence "perfectly fuckable."
"He said he didn't know why everyone thought I was so fat, he thought I was 'perfectly fuckable.'" She admitted, "I let myself be treated a certain way because I felt I had to for my career."
Unfortunately, this wasn't the only time Lawrence was body-shamed for a job. In her speech, Lawrence also revealed she was asked to lose 15 pounds in two weeks to get a specific role, PEOPLE reports.
The stories of these brave women, and the many others who opened up at the event, prove that harassment is overwhelmingly present across all industries. One thing to be thankful for: the conversation about women's right is alive and ongoing. It's safe to say that women everywhere are not backing down from the fight.
"For the young women in this room, life is going to be different because we're with you, we have your back." - @RWitherspoon#ELLEWIH
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) October 17, 2017
