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Fred Savage has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by six women.
The โWonder Yearsโ star โ who was fired from the reboot earlier this year after directing nine episodes of the ABC reboot โ was let go after the allegations were made on set after production โstarted immediatelyโ into the 46-year-old former child star-turned-executive producerโs conduct.
Two of the six of the anonymous accusers told the Hollywood Reporter about what they claim it was like to work with Fred.
One said: โTo their credit, I was contacted within hours. An investigation started immediately and he was barred from set.โ
The news โ which broke in May โ was met with a confirmation by a representative from 20th Television, who referred to โallegations of inappropriate conductโ but did not give any further detail.
Reports later circulated that the actor was โdoing a lot of self-reflectingโ and lauded the โoverwhelming supportโ he was receiving from people at the sitcom โ which has been renewed for a second series โ prompting the accusers to speak out.
One told the same outlet: โI and the other women feel that people need to know what the wrongdoing was.โ
The two women โ who were not identified by the paper โ believe there are two different sides to the former โBoy Meets Worldโ star.
One said: โHis eyes would go deadโ as he shifted from one mood to another.
According to the THR, the six women โ who asked to have their identities kept secret by Disney โ allege verbal harassment and an alleged assault of an ex crew member.
The other described how the higher ups would โall see his absolute perfect, best faceโ but saved his nastier side for โbelow-the-line employees who donโt have power.โ
One of the alleged victims โ who at the time of the alleged incident no longer worked on the show โ claim that Fred followed her into the womenโs restroom at a bar often frequented by the crew after work and โforcefullyโ kissed her and then โpulledโ her hand to โhis groin areaโ.
She said: โHe was buying shots for everyone,โ and then later when she went to the loo, Fred appeared.
She continued: โI started laughing, like, โWhat are you doing? This is a womenโs bathroom,โโ before saying he came towards her with โjust like, dead eyesโ and pushed her up against the wall.
โI said, โPlease, donโt do this.โ I meant ruining the friendship. I was pleading, not from fear so much, but this was no going back.โ
โHe put his mouth on mine very forcefully. He went for the top of my pants. I brushed him away. Then he put his mouth on mine again, grabbed my hand and pulled it on his groin area. I was pulling back. He stopped very angrily. I shoulder-checked him so I could get out.โ
She detailed how afterwards when Fred allegedly texted her โ after he left the premises allegedly with a young female crewmember โ to come to his home she โlaughed it offโ but was โhonestly scaredโ.
She said: โTo remain neutral I laughed it off like,โHa ha, no, have a good night,โ because I was honestly scared of him for the first time.โ
Following this, she claimed that Fred kept texting and calling her, eventually stopping until he left a voicemail message.
The message, which she shared with the Hollywood Reporter, went: โItโs your old friend Fred. We worked together for a while, and then we didnโt, and then I was a huge asshole. A huge asshole. And Iโm really sorry. And Iโve kind of owed you an apology for a minute here and so, uh, the truth is I really like you and I really want to be friends, and Iโm so sorry that I fucked that up.
The group assert they mainly complained about Fredโs conduct towards the young crew memberโs safety but also wanted to challenge his claimed โsupportโ for women.
They told the paper: โThese men in charge know what the public is looking for and they know what words to use. โWe all felt supported by Fred. We truly thought he supported women. He told us he supported women. But this kind of support isnโt real.โ
In response to the allegations, Fred told the magazine: โSince I was 6 years old, I have worked on hundreds of sets with thousands of people, and have always strived to contribute to an inclusive, safe and supportive work environment. It is devastating to learn that there are co-workers who feel I have fallen short of these goals. While there are some incidents being reported that absolutely did not and could not have happened, any one person who feels hurt or offended by my actions is one person too many. I will work to address and change any behavior that has negatively affected anyone, as nothing in this world is more important to me than being a supportive co-worker, friend, husband, father and person.โ
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