Braudy said she ran home after and vowed to never be alone with Douglas again.
A former employee of Michael Douglas has accused the actor of sexually harassing her by masturbating in front of her in the 1980s, according to Fox News.
Susan Braudy, a journalist who worked for Douglas’s production company Stonebridge Productions, told The Hollywood Reporter Douglas sexually harassed her multiple times. The worst occurring at Douglas’s apartment in 1989 while they working on a script:
“I peered at him (Douglas) and saw he’d inserted both hands into his unzipped pants,” Braudy wrote. “I realized to my horror that he was rubbing his private parts. Within seconds his voice cracked and it appeared to me he’d had an orgasm.”
Braudy said she ran home after and vowed to never be alone with Douglas again. Shortly after their relationship soured she was “let go” later that same year, but not before reportedly being asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Braudy did not sign.
The Journalist also claims Douglas made inappropriate sexual comments while working for Douglas.
“One screenwriter I hired asked if he could bring his daughter to meet Michael,» Braudy stated, according to Fox News.
“She asked Michael for a banana. Michael strode to me and said so that only I could hear, ‘Yes. And then you can tell your friends you licked Michael Douglas’ banana.’ I was appalled.”
Braudy claims she began wearing loose, black clothing to work. Which didn’t stop Douglas from making comments about her appearance:
He (Douglas) asked a producer, ‘Why does Susan dress like a pregnant nun?’ Another time I laughed loudly and he shouted to a group of agents, ‘Oh yeah, she’s a screamer! I bet she screams in the sack.’ I protested, ‘Please, don’t talk like that. It’s inappropriate.’ This made him laugh until he got pink splotches on his cheeks.
“I’m bewildered why, after 32 years, this is coming out, now,” Douglas told Deadline, according to Fox.
Douglas called Braudy’s allegations “unfortunate and complete fabrication.” The actor did admit to having ”inappropriate discussions» but denied Braudy worked in a hostile workplace.
“Coarse language or overheard private conversations with my friends that may have troubled her are a far cry from harassment,“ Douglas continued. ”Suggesting so does a true disservice to those who have actually endured sexual harassment and intimidation.»
Braudy had strong words for Douglas’s “pretext of victimization,” calling it “part of the problem.”
“These are some reasons why so many women don’t come forward with their stories — Lord knows it’s taken 30 years and a movement for me to gather my courage.”
