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Orange is the New Black star Yael Stone has come forward with allegations of inappropriate behavior against Academy Award-winning actor Geoffrey Rush, who was accused last year of another case of misconduct.
Stone said that she has been afraid to talk about her experiences with Rush who she starred in a stage production of The Diary of a Madman in 2010 and 2011. According to an interview with the New York Times, she said that he danced naked in front of her, used a mirror to watch her shower, and sent erotic text messages. At the time, Stone was 25 and Rush was 59.
In her interview, Stone said she did not come forward with the allegations because she was worried that Australia’s defamation laws would bring her into legal and financial problems because of its stringent libel laws. In a statement given to the NYT, Rush denied the allegations saying that they “are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context.”
In an interview with Leigh Sales on Australia’s ABC 7.30, Stone said that Rush’s alleged behavior made her uncomfortable and made her hate acting. “Whenever women particularly speak about issues like this their career generally suffers,” said Stone. “I’ve factored that into my calculations and if that happens, I think it’s worth it.”
Last year, Rush denied inappropriate behavior during an Australian stage production of the Shakespeare play King Lear. The Sydney Theatre Company said it received a complaint of alleged misconduct that occurred for months during the production, which ended in January 2016. Court documents filed claimed that actor Rush behaved like a “pervert” and engaged in “sexually predatory behaviour” during a 2015 theater production. Geoffrey Rush denied those allegations but has since stepped down as President of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
Rush filed defamation proceedings last year in Australia’s federal court, seeking damages from The Daily Telegraph which published allegations. In March, Australia federal court struck out large parts of News Corp’s truth defense in the defamation case, claiming it lacked detail.
