Australian actress, Yael Stone, has bravely come forward to tell her #MeToo story, accusing actor, Geoffrey Rush, of inappropriate behavior on the set of the play, ‘The Diary of a Madman,’ in 2010 and 2011. Here’s everything to know.
Geoffrey Rush has been accused of sexual misconduct by actress, Yael Stone, who he worked with on the Australian play, The Diary of a Madman, eight years ago. In a lengthy piece with the New York Times, the 33-year-old claimed Geoffrey of “danced naked in front of her in their dressing room, used a mirror to watch her while she showered and sent her occasionally erotic text messages.” Geoffrey has denied the claims in a statement of his own, insisting that the allegations are “incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context.” Here’s more to know about Yael:
1. You might recognize her from ‘Orange is the New Black.’ Yael plays Lorna Morello on the hit Netflix series, Orange Is The New Black. She has held the role since the show’s very first season and has been in 56 episodes of the series. Yael initially auditioned for the role of Nicky Nichols, which went to Natasha Lyonne instead. Originally, Yael was only contracted to appear in one episode of the show, but she was continuously brought back by producers for more episodes and became a series regular by season three.
2. She began her career in the theater. Although Yael was cast in some of her first film and TV roles when she was just a child, she mostly worked in the Australian theater when she was beginning her career. She officially moved to New York City in December 2011, and helped start an experimental theater company. Shortly after her move, she was cast in OITNB.
3. She’s a new mom. Yael started dating Jack Manning Bancroft after her split from Dan Spielman, who she marred in 2012, in July 2017. Yael and Jack revealed they were expecting their first child in Nov. 2017, and their daughter, Pemau, was born in May 2018.
4. She admits to ‘participating’ in some of Geoffrey’s alleged inappropriate behavior. Before Yael worked with Geoffrey on The Diary of a Madman, she considered him one of her heroes and looked up to him professionally. She claims his ‘inappropriate’ behavior began with text messages, which were “affectionate and flirtations, flowery and yet occasionally vulgar,” according to the New York Times piece. However, Yael admits to ‘bantering’ back. “I’m embarrassed by the ways I participated,” she said. “I certainly wouldn’t engage as the person I am now in the way I did when I was 25.”
5. She has a reason for waiting so long to come forward with her claims about Geoffrey. It’s taken Yael quite a bit of time to come forward with her story about Geoffrey, and it all stems from Australia’s defamation laws, which are very different from those in the United States. In the U.S., if someone claims to be “defamed,” it is on them to prove the allegations are false. However, in Australia, the law is opposite, which means the person doing the accusing has to prove their claims are true. Yael admitted to being “terrified” about what kind of legal and financial battle she could be faced with for coming forward.
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