Actor Liam Neeson argued in an appearance on Ireland's Late Late Show Friday that the cascade of sexual harassment allegations against famous men in recent months has not adequately distinguished between rape or assault and milder offenses or misunderstandings. "There is a bit of a witch hunt happening too," Neeson said. "There's some people, famous people, being suddenly accused of touching some girl's knee or something and suddenly they're being dropped from their program or something."
He highlighted the case of radio host Garrison Keillor, who was fired by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) over allegations of inappropriate behavior. MPR has not stated the nature of the accusation against Keillor, though the radio host claims he merely placed his hand on the back of a female colleague in a comforting gesture before he realized she was wearing an open-backed shirt. Neeson also said he is "on the fence" about the accusations against fellow actor Dustin Hoffman, calling Hoffman's alleged misconduct, which includes exposing himself to a 16-year-old, "childhood stuff."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Disney is still shielding Americans from an episode of 'Bluey'Talking Points The US culture war collides with its lucrative children's show
-
6 captivating new museum exhibitions to see this summerThe Week Recommends Get up close to Gustave Caillebotte and discover New Vision photography
-
'The answer isn't to shake faith in the dollar'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
