MABIGAT para kay Morgan Freeman ang mga alegasyon ng sexual harassment na ipinupukol sa kanya. Dahil dito ay nagde-demand ang abogado ng 80 taong gulang na Oscar-winning actor sa CNN na bawiin ang ulat nito, na inaakusahan si Freeman ng inappropriate behavior — ngunit hindi nagpapatinag ang network.

Nakuha ng Yahoo Entertainment ang kopya ng sampung pahinang liham mula kay Robert M. Schwartz na ipinadala kay Jeff Zucker, ang presidente ng CNN, at nakasaad dito na ang “(network) defamed Mr. Freeman.”

“CNN has inflicted serious injury on his reputation and career,” saad sa liham. “At a minimum, CNN immediately needs to issue a retraction and apologized to Mr. Freeman through the same channels, and with the same level of attention, that is used to unjustly attack him.”

Binanggit din sa liham ng abogado na ang report ay “(already had) devastating consequences” sa Shawshank Redemption actor. “Mr. Freeman is being viewed in the global court of public opinion as someone akin to notorious harassers and accused rapists, such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey,” saad pa rito. “CNN had no justification for doing that.”

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Nakasaad din sa liham na dahil dito ay lumalayo na kay Freeman ang mga nakatrabaho. “The damage CNN has inflicted is real. And given Mr. Freeman’s career and many motion picture and television commitments, it is substantial,” lahad sa liham. “If CNN has any decency or any allegiance to journalistic integrity, it will immediate (sic) retract the article and issue a public apology to Mr. Freeman.”

Agad namang nag-isyu ng pahayag ang CNN na nagsasabing paninindigan ng network ang ulat. “The unfounded accusations made by Mr. Freeman’s lawyer are disappointing and are difficult to reconcile with Mr. Freeman’s own public statements in the aftermath of the story,” lahad ng cable news network. “CNN stands by its reporting and will respond forcefully to any attempt by Mr. Freeman or his representatives to intimidate us from covering this important public issue.”

Sumagot naman ang abogado ni Freeman, si Robert Schwartz, sa naging pahayag ng network. “We presented CNN with objective evidence, including videotapes and on-the-record denials by the claimed ‘victims,’ that the alleged incident that gave rise to the story never happened,” sabi ni Schwartz. “We proved to CNN, beyond any doubt, that the whole story was built on fakery. The credibility of the entire CNN attack on Mr. Freeman has now been undermined. And in choosing to ignore all of the evidence that we presented, CNN has confirmed our concerns about its reporters, its lack of oversight, and its gross misconduct in unjustifiably attacking Mr. Freeman.”

Nitong nakaraang linggo, inakusahan ang acclaimed actor ng sexual harassment and/or inappropriate behavior — kabilang ang “unwanted touching” — na bintang ng walong kababaihan. Kinapanayam din ng CNN ang walong umano’y saksi, na naglarawan ng nakababahalang pag-uugali ni Freeman sa set at promotional campaigns.

Itinanggi ni Freeman ang mga alegasyon at dalawang beses na humingi ng paumahin sa sinumang pinakitunguhan niya ng hindi maganda.

“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy,” pahayag ng much-awarded actor sa Yahoo Entertainment nitong Huwebes. “I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”

Naglabas ulit si Freeman ng isa pang statement nitong Biyernes. “I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday’s media reports,” he began. “All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humor.

“I admit that I am someone who feels a need to try to make women — and men — feel appreciated and at ease around me. As part of that, I would often try to joke with and compliment women, in what I thought was a light-hearted and humorous way. Clearly I was not always coming across the way I intended. And that is why I apologized Thursday and will continue to apologize to anyone I might have upset, however unintentionally.

“But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments,” pagtatapos ng aktor. “I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false.”