Terry Crews says #MeToo movement gave him courage

Terry Crews

Actor Terry Crews has credited the women, who came forward with their experiences of sexual harassment and launched the worldwide #MeToo movement, for giving him the strength and courage to tell his story to the world. In the aftermath of the sexual harassment scandal that led to the downfall of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, Crews had revealed that a "high-level Hollywood executive" groped his "privates" at a party in 2016. The alleged perpetrator was later identified as Adam Venit, head of WMEs motion picture group, who has since left the agency and taken a retirement.

During a discussion at the 25th annual Essence Festival, Crews said he did not report the incident immediately after it happened as he feared no one would believe him, reported Deadline. "I did come forward right away. I went right to the agency where this man worked and told everybody. I didn't go public right away. I gave them time to rectify the situation. I wanted them to get rid of this man...

"This was pre-Me Too. If I would have gone to the police, I would have been laughed out of the precinct. This was also a time when people believed that you as a man couldn't be sexually assaulted. It was impossible to get anyone to believe," the 50-year-old actor said. The "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" star said he felt empowered and decided to share his story after the Weinstein scandal.

"When the women of the #MeToo movement came forward, I viewed that like a hole in the fence. I watched those women escape and I ran right after them. That is when I came public. With the inspiration and from the courage they showed, actually gave me the courage to come forward with my story," Crews said. The actor added that opening up about the incident with the world was "probably the most important thing we've ever done".

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates