Former employee accuses Michael Douglas of sexual harassment
After Michael Douglas tried to "get ahead" of sexual misconduct allegations by preemptively saying a former employee was falsely accusing him of masturbating in front of her more than 30 years ago, the accuser has come forward.
Susan Braudy, a journalist and novelist who worked for Douglas at his production company in the late 1980s, says he undressed and touched his genitals in front of her. Douglas has denied the claims.
Braudy provided The Hollywood Reporter with a detailed written account of various allegations of sexual misconduct against Douglas based on notes and records she kept, a timeline of her employment and three people she talked to about her experience who were willing to back her claims.
Braudy said that Douglas frequently mocked her in front of colleagues, calling her a "pregnant nun" when she wore all black and shouting, "I bet she screams in the sack," in front of a group of agents. Most shocking, Braudy said that Douglas masturbated in front of her.
In her written account to The Hollywood Reporter, she said that during a script meeting at Douglas' apartment in 1989 about an E.T.-like character, "Michael unzipped his chinos and I registered something amiss. Still complimenting my additions to our E.T. imitation, his voice lowered at least half an octave. I peered at him and saw he'd inserted both hands into his unzipped pants. I realized to my horror that he was rubbing his private parts. Within seconds his voice cracked and it appeared to me he'd had an orgasm."
Braudy also told the "Today" show on Friday the same story and said she was previously too scared to come forward with her accusation.
"One of my friends said you better not tell people about him. People were frightened for me," she said.
Braudy also said, "He thought he was the king of the world and that he could humiliate me without any repercussion."
Earlier in January, Douglas contacted Deadline saying that he wanted to speak before any articles came out about the allegations. He said that instead of waiting for a story to emerge he wanted to "share with the public, a little ahead of the story, my thoughts and concerns."
Douglas said he was "floored" when The Hollywood Reporter contacted him, asking for comments after a woman told them the actor had vulgar conversations in front of her, blackballed her in Hollywood and masturbated in front of her. Douglas said that while he might have used vulgar language, he did not blackball her or masturbate in front of her. He said he eventually fired the woman "for the work she was doing."
He said of the accusation, "I don't know where to begin. This is a complete lie, fabrication, no truth to it whatsoever."
