Musician Bj?rk Shares Sexual Harassment Story
As more and more women in the film industry detail stories of harassment by oftentimes older industry men in power, musician (and actress) Björk revealed her own sexual harassment story by an unnamed "Danish director" in a lengthy Facebook post.
The Icelandic singer, whose acting credits include a Golden Globes Best Actress nomination for Dancer in the Dark, posted a detailed account of the incident, framing it against her homeland's historic pushes for gender equality and the seeming pervasiveness of sexual harassment within the film industry:
"i am inspired by the women everywhere who are speaking up online to tell about my experience with a danish director . because i come from a country that is one of the worlds place closest to equality between the sexes and at the time i came from position of strength in the music world with hard earned independence , it was extremely clear to me when i walked into the actresses profession that my humiliation and role as a lesser sexually harassed being was the norm and set in stone with the director and a staff of dozens who enabled it and encouraged it .
i became aware of that it is a universal thing that a director can touch and harass his actresses at will and the institution of film allows it . when i turned the director down repeatedly he sulked and punished me and created for his team an impressive net of illusion where i was framed as the difficult one .
because of my strength , my great team and because i had nothing to loose having no ambitions in the acting world , i walked away from it and recovered in a years time . i am worried though that other actresses working with the same man did not . the director was fully aware of this game and i am sure of that the film he made after was based on his experiences with me . because i was the first one that stood up to him and didn't let him get away with it"
Though Björk does not identify the man in question beyond his ethnicity, the director Lars von Trier (of Dancer in the Dark) has since responded, telling a Danish newspaper (via Page Six) of the allegations that "this is not the case - although we didn’t get along, that’s a fact." von Trier's business partner Peter Jensen also spoke with the Danish press, with IndieWire reporting he told a Danish newspaper that, of he and von Trier's relationship with Björk on-set, wait for it: "As far as I remember, we were victims... [Björk] was stronger than both Lars von Trier and me and our company together."
Meanwhile, though it appears she never worked with the man she accused of harassment again, Björk does acknowledge what she believes as changed behavior on his part in her Facebook post:
"and in my opinion he had a more fair and meaningful relationship with his actresses after my confrontation so there is hope. let's hope this statement supports the actresses and actors all over. let's stop this. there is a wave of change in the world"
i am inspired by the women everywhere who are speaking up online to tell about my experience with a danish director ....
Posted by Björk on Sunday, October 15, 2017
Updated 10/18, 8:40 p.m. EST: Björk chimed into the #MeToo movement, and also stood by her earlier comments.
In a post on her Facebook, the singer shared, "in the spirit of #metoo i would like to lend women around the world a hand with a more detailed description of my experience with a danish director . it feels extremely difficult to come out with something of this nature into the public , especially when immediately ridiculed by offenders . i fully sympathise with everyone who hesitates , even for years . but i feel it is the right time especially now when it could make a change ."
She then gave more details about her interactions with the Danish director, detailing that he "wrapped his arms around me for a long time in front of all crew or alone and stroked me sometimes for minutes against my wishes," subjected her to "constant awkward paralysing unwanted whispered sexual offers from him with graphic descriptions , sometimes with his wife standing next to us," and even "threatened to climb from his room´s balcony over to mine in the middle of the night with a clear sexual intention," which she details, "finally woke me up to the severity of all this and made me stand my ground."
She then addresses how the Danish director "fabricated stories in the press about me being difficult by his producer . this matches beautifully the weinstein methods and bullying .i have never eaten a shirt . not sure that is even possible ."
Björk ends the post with a declarative, "i didnt comply or agree on being sexually harassed . that was then portrayed as me being difficult . if being difficult is standing up to being treated like that , i´ll own it ."
Read her whole post below:
in the spirit of #metoo i would like to lend women around the world a hand with a more detailed description of my...
Posted by Björk on Tuesday, October 17, 2017
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