sexual assault

Blake Lively Says She Was Sexually Harassed by a Makeup Artist

Blake Lively. Photo: LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

As allegations of sexual assault continue to pile up against powerful film producer Harvey Weinstein, more women are coming forward with their own stories of harassment at the hands of other men in (and outside of) Hollywood. The latest star to open up about her experience is Blake Lively, who told the Los Angeles Times that she had been regularly harassed by a makeup artist with whom she once worked.

“He was saying things inappropriately, insisting on putting my lipstick on with his finger,” the former Gossip Girl star told the Times. “I was sleeping one night on location and I woke up and he was filming me. I was clothed, but it was a very voyeuristic, terrifying thing to do.”

Lively said she complained about the behavior to the project’s producers for months, but that no action was taken. When they eventually called her into a meeting and said, “We need to talk,” she thought they were finally going to address the harassment, but instead, she claims they told her, “Your dog left a poop behind the toilet in your dressing room and our janitor had to pick it up. And this is very serious and we can’t have this happen again.”

It reportedly wasn’t until Lively went to a lawyer that the producers fired the makeup artist, and even then, she told the Times, “Our unit production manager wrote him a letter of recommendation because nobody wanted there to be bad blood.”

Earlier this week, Lively spoke out about the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “That was never my experience with Harvey in any way whatsoever, and I think that if people heard these stories … I do believe in humanity enough to think that this wouldn’t have just continued. I never heard any stories like this — I never heard anything specific — but it’s devastating to hear.”

Blake Lively Says She Was Sexually Harassed by Makeup Artist