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Brendan Fraser says he was groped by ex-president of Hollywood foreign press
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Brendan Fraser of the television show 'Condor' speaks onstage during the AT&T AUDIENCE Network 2018 Winter TCA on January 11, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (AFP/Rich Fury)
H
ollywood actor Brendan Fraser, star of films such as The Mummy (1999) and George of the Jungle (1997), says that he was groped by Philip Berk, a former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
The alleged incident took place at a HFPA luncheon in 2003, when Berk came to shake Fraser's hand goodbye. That was when Berk assaulted him, Fraser said in an interview with GQ magazine.
Fraser said that Berk groped his genitals.
The incident left him feeling "ill", he added in the article published on Thursday.
"I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry."
Read also: Guess co-founder steps aside after groping claims from top model
Fraser also said that the incident was partly why he retreated from the entertainment scene in the mid-2000s. The experience "made me retreat, it made me feel reclusive", he said.
Berk, who is still a HFPA member, denied the allegations in a statement to GQ: "Mr. Fraser's version is a total fabrication."
The HFPA is a non-profit organisation of entertainment journalists and photographers, and is known for conducting the annual Golden Globe Awards.
Fraser, 49, was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood during the 1990s and early 2000s, but went on to do bit roles later on.
He has been making his comeback in recent months. Last year, he played domineering prison guard John Gunther on the drama The Affair, and next month, he will be seen in a starring role in the TV series Trust, a period drama that revolves around the abduction in Italy of John Paul Getty III, the then-heir to Getty Oil.
This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
