United Kingdom

Angela Lansbury Under Fire for Saying Women ‘Must Sometimes Take Blame' for Sexual Harassment

Lansbury also said that there's "no excuse" for sexual harassment and that "a lot of men must be very worried at this point"

In the wake of an outpouring of sexual misconduct allegations against men in the entertainment industry, media and politics in recent weeks, British-born actress Angela Lansbury has said that women are partially responsible for sexual harassment.

“We must sometimes take blame, women,” the 92-year-old actress told Radio Times. “I really do think that. Although it’s awful to say we can’t make ourselves look as attractive as possible without being knocked down and raped.”

Lansbury, known for her role in American crime drama “Murder, She Wrote" and for voicing the enchanted teapot Mrs. Potts in 1991 Disney classic "Beauty and the Beast," said that women are partially to blame because of their desire to make themselves attractive.

“There are two sides to this coin," Lansbury said. "We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us - and this is where we are today.”

Lansbury acknowledged that women should not have to deal with sexual harassment.

“Should women be prepared for this? No, they shouldn’t have to be," she said. "There’s no excuse for that. And I think it will stop now - it will have to. I think a lot of men must be very worried at this point.”

Lansbury, who has been acting since the 1940s, said she has never experienced any unwanted sexual advances from male executives during her career. 

Her comments drew heavy criticism on social media.

https://twitter.com/jemmy17/status/935531487805558785
https://twitter.com/lauraewaddell/status/935489873875742721

Lansbury is set to star in the BBC's latest adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, "Little Women."

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