In the wake of the #MeToo movement, it’s been open season on any man who has ever used his position of power to intimidate, harass, or prey on women. Last week when sexual harassment allegations were about to surface about Michael Douglas however, the Oscar-winning actor attempted to get ahead of the scandal by preemptively denying them. And sure enough, on Thursday a former Douglas employee named Susan Braudy came forward to accuse him of a hostile working environment, and even masturbating in front of her on one occasion.
On Friday, Douglas’ wife Catherine Zeta-Jones appeared on The View to discuss the allegations against her husband, as well as the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements in general. Zeta-Jones presented at the Golden Globes earlier this month wearing black in support of Time’s Up, which she said she thinks was indeed effective in making the point.
“Yes, I think it was made, us women are greater in numbers,” she said. “And this pendulum is going to get to a medium and people aren’t going to be talking about it, it’s not going to be on the forefront of everyone’s lips. Women have to be kind to each other.”
When asked by Sunny Hostin whether not she supported Douglas preemptively coming out against his own accuse, Zeta-Jones said that her husband had to come out due to what he believes in. “Look, I support this movement, Time’s Up, Me Too, 110 percent,” she said. “Always have, since it opened up to the public, because as we all know it’s been going on for years.”
Reiterating that she supports the move 110 percent, Zeta-Jones then addressed her husband’s statement directly. “Michael came out with that preemptive statement, he was articulate, he said it from the heart, he was honest, open, and transparent,” she continued. “He now needs to take the next step from where he goes from here and it’s a question for him.”
“Because it happened 30 years ago. It was B.C., before Catherine,” she quipped. Yet Zeta-Jones went on to say that she hopes this sort of behavior will be extinguished by the time her own daughter enters adulthood, which is something hopefully we can all get behind.