- Lydia Forson has revealed how a movie producer sexually abused earlier in her career
- This confirms long-standing rumours of movie producers giving roles to actors in exchange for their satisfaction in bed
Click here for the latest entertainment news
Popular actress Lydia Forson has confirmed the prevalence of sexual harassment incidents in the movie industry with her disclosure of how she was once harassed sexually by a movie producer in the early days of her acting career.
Lydia Forson
According to her, the producer wanted her to show him her breast in exchange for a role in a movie but she refused.
READ ALSO: Davido caught in a lie over friend's death - Police investigates
“Earlier in my career just once, small time producer who asked to see my breast for a role I was auditioning for and I said no and walked out", she said.
The actress' revelation comes after a Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexually harassing actresses including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Harvey Weinstein stands accused
Speaking on the matter on BBC's Focus on Africa, Lydia Forson said stated the problem of sexual harassment was not only prevalent in Hollywood but was worse in Africa because of the high poverty levels.
READ ALSO: MzBel lays claim to one of Kinaata's hit songs
“It’s unfortunate that it’s very common but it cuts across everywhere. Women are subjected to unwanted sexual advances from men in powerful positions especially who want to take advantage of their vulnerability. In Africa where there’s a lot of poverty and people are looking for a jobs, they know how to feed on peoples desperation", she pointed out.
Apart from her own experience, she cited the experience of an unnamed actress who walked up to her and said "she’s been trying to break up into the industry for several years but every producer wants to sleep with her and they named some big actresses that they slept with before giving them roles and threaten them if they refuse to cooperate".
She called on governments in Africa to make laws that will deter perpetrators and also called for support for victims of sexual abuse so as to encourage the victims to report such incidents when they occur.
“We need laws that work to serve as a deterrent. If young actresses also know that established actresses will defend them when they come out, they will be more likely to do so”, she suggested.
Do you have any story to share with YEN? Get featured! We are available on Facebook
Source: Yen.com.gh
