celebrity

"He slapped my ass." Anna Faris experienced a "reign of terror" on the set of My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

Actress Anna Faris has named the director she alleges sexually harassed her while on the set of one of her movies, confirming it to be the late Ivan Reitman.

Speaking in 2017, she opened up about an uncomfortable situation during one of her projects where a director allegedly slapped her on the buttocks in front of the whole crew, something she felt she had to laugh off at the time.

But now, speaking on her podcast Anna Faris is Unqualified, with guest Lena Dunham, she opened up about the incident that allegedly occurred with Reitman while they worked together on the set of My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast. Post continues below.

"One of my hardest film experiences was with Ivan Reitman," Faris said on the podcast.

"I mean, the idea of attempting to make a comedy under this, like, reign of terror - he was a yeller," she continued.

"He would bring somebody down every day, and my first day it was me," she explained, going on to detail an experience in which Reitman yelled at her after she arrived late to set due to a costuming issue.

Reitman is best known for directing comedy films like Ghostbusters, Twins, Junior, and Kindergarten Cop.

Back in 2017, in another episode of her podcast, Faris explained what had allegedly happened on set without naming the director.

"I was doing a scene where I was on a ladder and I was supposed to be taking books off of a shelf, and he slapped my ass in front of the crew so hard," she said.

"All I could do was giggle," she admitted.

"I remember looking around and I remember seeing the crew members being like, 'Wait, what are you going to do about that? That seemed weird,'" she explained.

ADVERTISEMENT
Reitman and Faris in 2014. Image: Getty.

"That’s how I dismissed it. I was like, 'Well, this isn’t a thing. Like, it’s not that big of a deal. C’mon Faris. Like, buck up. It’s not that big of a deal. Like, just giggle.' But it made me feel small. He wouldn’t have done that to the lead male."

Dunham supported Faris as she made the admission on the podcast this week.

"I don’t think you’re the first person who’s reported that. And I’m so sorry you had that experience," she said.

"And did no one step in and say no?" she asked.

"No, it was, like, 2006," Faris responded.

Faris is not the only actress to have had issues with Reitman.

Salma Hayek threatened to sue him after he refused to see her audition for a role she had been screen testing for.

"I was screen testing for the lead in a film and they said that it was not written in Latin, but they wouldn’t mind changing it," Hayek told The Guardian, referring to a time in her career when she was still perfecting her English.

ADVERTISEMENT
Salma Hayek also admitted to problems with Reitman. Image: Getty.

 "I learned the script but when they sent me the pages [for the audition] there was none of the things I had learned, it was another role.

"So my agent called them and they said, 'Are you crazy? She’s Mexican. We can change [the race of] the bimbo, but not the lead.'"

She said Reitman apologised to her years later, admitting he was wrong.

Since Faris’s admission, one of the producers of My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Gavin Polone, has spoken on the alleged incident, giving a statement to Deadline.

"I never saw that incident, or heard about it, but I would not have any reason to dispute Anna’s account, either. If Anna says it happened, I believe her. If it had happened in front of me, I certainly would have confronted Ivan about it. I’m sad to think Anna was demeaned in that way."

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home. 

Feature Image: Getty.

Love watching TV and movies? Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.
00:00 / ???