Geoffrey Rush accused of sexual misconduct by Orange Is The New Black star Yael Stone

[News]

Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush has once again been accused of sexual misconduct.

The allegations come from Orange is the New Black star Yael Stone who tells The New York Times that Rush sexually harassed her multiple times while the pair were working on a 2010 production of The Diary of a Madman in Sydney, Australia.

Stone alleges that Rush exposed himself to her, sent sexually suggestive text messages, and even spied on her while showering. “I remember I looked up to see there was a small shaving mirror over the top of the partition between the showers and he was using it to look down at my naked body,” she recounts.

She insists their working relationship was strange from the beginning, ranging from Rush asking the actress to remove his contact lenses and costume during intermission to napping with her uninvited as they waited in between the production’s matinee and evening performances.

As she tells the publication, “There was no part of my brain considering speaking to anyone in any official capacity. This was a huge star, What were they going to do? Fire Geoffrey and keep me?”

Rush has since responded to the allegations, insisting to The New York Times that they “are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context.” He adds, “However, clearly Yael has been upset on occasion by the spirited enthusiasm I generally bring to my work. I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most certainly, has never been my intention,”

Last year, Rush was accused of similar sexual misconduct by actress Eryn Jean Norvill, who worked with Rush on the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of King Lear in 2015 and 2016. At the time, his wife reported that he never wanted to act again. Currently, he is suing the publishers of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper and its journalist Jonathon Moran over these reports.

Source