Ashley Judd Reveals Previous Sexual Harassment by Studio Executive

Ashley Judd recently revealed that she was sexually harassed by a studio executive more than a decade ago.

For the first time, Ashley Judd talked about a time in the 90s when a studio boss sexually harassed her. The actress recounted how the mogul from a rival studio invited her to his hotel room for a supposed discussion for a movie role, but the meeting later on took on a different tone, according to Fox News.

In her interview with Variety, the 47-year-old star described the experience as "disgusting." Despite her gender studies and her feeling of empowerment, Judd said she decided to remain mum on the sexual harassment in the past, People reports.

Judd was taping for "Kiss the Girls" when the unnamed studio boss invited her to his room. The actress described the man as one of the most popular and "admired-slash-reviled" execs in the movie industry. The man had asked her to help him choose his clothes and accompany him for meals, and then later on asked her to watch him while he was taking a bath, the report details.

"In that moment, I told him something like, 'When I win an Academy Award in one of your movies,'" Fox quotes Judd's statement to Variety. "He said, 'No, when you get nominated.' I said, 'No, no, when I win an Academy Award.'"

That time, Judd felt a small surge of victory with her repeated contradiction of the renowned studio boss. She then got out of the room and recalls that she has never got a movie offer from that studio since then. Several years have passed before the actress realized that what happened was wrong and illegal.

Judd revealed that she was a bit hard on herself for what happened. She explained that what she felt was "part of the process" wherein a sexual harassment victim internalizes the shame when it is the aggressor who should actually feel ashamed.

Aside from that, Ashley Judd also shared that she was able to talk to other actresses who experienced the same thing with the studio exec. She said she decided to reveal her sexual harassment experience to shed light on the issue and help prevent the same thing from happening to others.