Ellen DeGeneres’ wife Portia De Rossi alleges sexual harassment by Steven Seagal during audition
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Actress Portia De Rossi has made allegations of sexual misconduct against director and producer Steven Seagal.
In a tweet yesterday, the Arrested Development star recalled her experience in an audition with Seagal.
The final audition for the unknown project took place in Seagal’s office.
Seagal allegedly told De Rossi that the “chemistry off-screen” was important, then reportedly proceeded to unzip his leather trousers.
Appalled, De Rossi immediately left the room and phoned her agent who was reportedly unconcerned by De Rossi’s allegation.
Her agent apparently replied: “well, I didn’t know if he was your type.”
After this allegation, Twitter was flooded with support for De Rossi, including from her wife, Ellen DeGeneres.
Many people praised De Rossi’s bravery in coming forward with her experience.
The hashtag #MeToo has been used in recent weeks by people across the world to detail their experiences of sexual harassment and assault.
Several other people criticised the reaction of Portia De Rossi’s agent for her unfazed response.
Portia De Rossi has spoken openly about her sexual orientation, once saying how she felt unable to come out due to the implications on her career.
It is not known whether the alleged misconduct occurred before or after De Rossi came out as a lesbian.
De Rossi is one of many Hollywood stars to have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct in recent weeks.
Last month, actress and model Cara Delevingne revealed a shocking homophobic incident by the now disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
This was then followed by a continuing spate of allegations against actor Kevin Spacey, who responded to initial reports by coming out as gay.
Earlier this week, Spacey was fired from the hit Netflix show House of Cards in response to the allegations.
Representatives for Segal have not responded to the allegations or requests for comment from Buzzfeed and TMZ.
