Los Angeles: Actress Thandie Newton has revealed that she was abused by a director during the early stages of her acting career. The 'Impossible II' star, now 40, has spoken out as part of an international campaign to end violence against women, One Billion Rising. Newton says she is still scarred by a "horrific" incident that involved a director when she was 18 and looking for her 'big break'.
Now a mother of two and married to the film producer Oliver Parker, Newton said she later found out the director involved had shown the video of her abuse to others in showbiz, the CNN reported.
"When I was a 16 year old fresh from boarding school going out in, you know the casting couch, I was definitely objectified to an extreme. The way I was made to feel. The way I was exploited and the kind of role and the kinds of things I was expected to do in auditions," Newton said.
The abuse by the director happened when she was 18. The actress says she could not defend herself at that time because the abuse happening in a professional environment with a female casting director present.
"It was a screen test. There were two other people in the room the director and the casting director, who was a woman. I'm 18 years old, you know, and I'm thinking this is, obviously... I was in a protected... there were boundaries," she said.
Three years later, she discovered the video was being shown by the director to other showbusiness figures.
Newton, however, declined to name the director or say if she knew whether he was still in the business.
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