Natalie Portman Says She Was ‘Devastated’ By Rape Allegation Against Her Director at Age 13
“I really didn’t know. I was a kid working," Portman said of one 1993 movie set. "But I don’t want to say anything that would invalidate anyone’s experience."
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Having *existed* in the film industry for some time, Natalie Portman has been relatively open about the gross, inappropriate sexualization she’s faced since her break-out role at age 13 in Léon: The Professional in 1993. And in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday, Portman opened up again on her memories of working on the movie—including the rape allegations that have since come out against her then-director, Luc Besson, in 2018.
“It’s devastating,” Portman said of learning the allegations. She recounted having no knowledge of Besson’s predatory behavior when they worked together in the 1990s: “I really didn’t know. I was a kid working. I was a kid. But I don’t want to say anything that would invalidate anyone’s experience.”
Over the course of 2018, six different women accused Besson of assault and harassment, including a former assistant who said she had been “blackmailed” and pressured into a sexual relationship with Besson. The Hollywood Reporter wrote at the time that Besson typically asked for meetings with prospective actresses in hotel rooms, and the outlet also claimed to have a video of Besson facilitating a hotel room casting of a 16-year-old girl in 2003.