Sex and the City actor Gilles Marini has added to the flood of sexual assault allegations coming out of Hollywood in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Marini, who plays Dante in the 2008 hit movie based on the celebrated series, told People magazine that he "became a piece of meat for many executives in Hollywood".
The 41-year-old actor's claim follows on from US actor Anthony Rapp's recent allegations of sexual misconduct by House of Cards star Kevin Spacey in 1986 when Rapp was only 14 years old.
A candid Marini said that it's difficult for men to reveal their sexual abuse because of rigid ideas of masculinity.
"I didn't see many men use the hashtag #MeToo and the reason is because it's a stigma, it's a shame, you lose your manhood," he said.
The #MeToo campaign started in the wake of women making sexual assault allegations against Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein. The simple slogan took off as millions of people around the world shared it to let their networks know that they too had experienced sexual harassment and abuse.
The French-born actor and US Dancing with the Stars runner-up said that he has been propositioned by extremely powerful people in Hollywood "many times" and he believes there are more stories like his own.
"When a young man is affected by being raped, or sexually harassed, or touched ??? you will never hear [about it] - but those people exist."
"It's a worldwide thing??? and it involves women, but it also involve a lot of men. Those men will never come out, and it's sad."
Weighing in on the Weinstein scandal, Giles said that he thought it was a joke that Weinstein needed to go to a sexual addiction treatment clinic, adding "when you violate someone, the only place you need to go is jail."
