While appearing on Fox’s The Ingraham Angle Tuesday evening, actress Suzanne Somers went to bat for friend Morgan Freeman, defending him as a “big flirt†following accusations of sexual harassment made against him by eight women. “Well, this probably won’t be real popular, but I think that women … I totally understand the Weinstein and Bill Cosby, that’s like, of course,†she explained. “But you know, like Morgan Freeman’s a big flirt. I know him really well. He sees you and he’ll like your dress and he’ll like your hair. He’ll like a lot of things.†Somers also expressed her concerns with the potential overreach of Hollywood’s #MeToo movement, which she sees evidence of in accusations against Freeman. “I hope the dance doesn’t stop. It’s seduction. It’s flirting,†she said. “All those things are really fun. So I hope there’s a way we can find a nice medium with that.â€
In late May, a CNN investigation unearthed multiple accusations of on-set sexual harassment against Morgan Freeman, including alleged lewd comments and unwanted touching. The actor subsequently apologized for his behavior, but denied creating an “unsafe work environment.†“Clearly I was not always coming across the way I intended. And that is why I apologized Thursday and will continue to apologize to anyone I might have upset, however unintentionally,†Freeman said in a statement at the time. “But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false.â€