James Woods, one of the most prominent conservative actors in Hollywood, is following in Brendan Fraser's footsteps in calling out former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk.
In a tweet recommending his followers read Fraser's shocking GQ profile detailing a sexual assault allegation against Berk, Woods said he believes he was blacklisted from the Golden Globes (an awards ceremony the HFPA throws annually) because he told Berk he'd never consider supporting Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate.
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View Story"I recommend this interview highly. I, too, was blacklisted by that individual at HFPA after nine Golden Globe nominations," Woods tweeted. "During a press junket with HFPA, he asked if I would support Hillary Clinton if she ever ran for president. Never nominated again."
Woods (who has eight Globes nominations under his belt, including one win, according to IMDb) then tweeted again to clarify his accusation against Berk was not sexual by any means.
"For the record, however, he was never physically 'sketchy' with me in any way similar to that alleged by Brendan Fraser in GQ," Woods wrote. "He was probably aware I might have knocked his teeth out had he tried."
"Final note: I'm so glad Brendan Fraser is back entertaining us. I'm a big fan," he said.
Fraser, on the other hand, alleged that Berk grabbed his butt and the trauma he felt in the moment still lives within him today.
"Am I still frightened? Absolutely. Do I feel like I need to say something? Absolutely. Have I wanted to many, many times? Absolutely. Have I stopped myself? Absolutely," Fraser said.
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View StoryThe basics of the assault had been told before in Fraser's memoir and in a piece by The New York Times, but the actor went into greater detail to explain why he decided to step away from the Hollywood scene in 2003.
"His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around," Fraser said. He recalled panic and fear, but eventually he was able to move Berk's hand. "I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry."
He immediately left the event and didn't say a word to anyone, except his wife at the time. In an email statement to GQ, Berk denied this version of the incident in question, writing, "Mr. Fraser's version is a total fabrication."
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View StoryLike many of the other survivors of sexual assault, Fraser said he didn't want the assault to become part of his narrative, following him around and resurfacing those feelings. He tried to minimize what had happened, telling himself, "This is nothing; this guy reached around and he copped a feel."
Fraser wonders if the HFPA blacklisted him, but Berk defended the organization by saying, "His career declined through no fault of ours." But as he watched Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino -- all women he's worked with -- speak their truths and wear black at the Golden Globes, which is thrown by the HFPA, he was emboldened. Then he saw that Berk was in the room.
The HFPA has since issued the following statement about the allegations: "The HFPA stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behavior described in this article. Over the years we've continued a positive working relationship with Brendan, which includes announcing Golden Globe nominees, attending the ceremony and participating in press conferences. This report includes alleged information that the HFPA was previously unaware of and at this time we are investigating further details surrounding the incident."