Orange Is The New Black Actress Accuses Geoffrey Rush Of Harassment

Yael Stone, the Orange Is the New Black actress, has accused Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush of sexual harassment, The New York Times reported.

The actress has accused Rush of inappropriate behaviour when the actors worked together in The Diary of a Madman in 2010 and 2011.

Stone alleged that during the production, Rush held a mirror above her while she showered, danced naked in front of her and touched her back in an “unwanted” and “very sensual manner”

“I remember I looked up to see there was a small shaving mirror over the top of the partition between the showers and he was using it to look down at my naked body,” Stone claimed. “I believe that it was meant with a playful intention, but the effect was that I felt there was nowhere for me to feel safe and unobserved.”

However, Rush has denied the claims in a statement. He said, “From the outset I must make it clear that the allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by Yael Stone are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context."

“However, clearly Yael has been upset on occasion by the spirited enthusiasm I generally bring to my work,” Rush continued. “I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most certainly, has never been my intention.”

Describing the ordeal, Stone further said, "“It was the biggest break I had ever had,” adding that she appeared in the play at age 25. “This wasn’t a steppingstone. It was a leap across the river.”

“There was no part of my brain considering speaking to anyone in any official capacity. This was a huge star,” she commented about Rush, 59 back then. “What were they going to do? Fire Geoffrey and keep me?”

She said her decision to call out Rush was in the interest of being a good role model for her daughter. “Anecdotally we can look and see whenever women particularly speak up about issues like this, their career generally suffers,” she said, news.com.au reported.

“I’ve factored that into my calculations and if that happens, I think it’s worth it. I have a very young baby girl and I want to say to her one day, it was hard but I did it anyway."