‘I felt so vulnerable’: Denise Richards explains why she didn’t speak out after being sexually harassed
Denise Richards, a woman who was constantly sexualized in her early career, didn’t say anything when #MeToo rolled around. She seemingly didn’t have a harrowing story to share, and this was great news. She had “a good experience” on male-dominated sets, she told The Washington Post in 2020. Unfortunately, the full truth was yet to be revealed.
A few years later, she indicated that she did experience issues with sexual harassment. Speaking to Variety in 2023, she said, “I have been very quiet about a lot of that stuff,” referring to #MeToo. “I obviously went through a lot in my career early on, when I did Wild Things especially. And one day I will talk about that experience. And some stuff right after that and a little before, but it’s, uh … you know, I’m glad that we’re in a time where women are being empowered and being able to have more of a voice.”
Now, Richards has decided the time for silence is over. She wants to talk about what happened to her on a film set—and the reaction from the people in charge.
She told People what she went through. The sexual harassment had gotten so bad that she wished to file a lawsuit, but she “was told [she] would be blacklisted.” The idea horrified her.
“I felt so vulnerable,” she told the magazine. “This was the career I wanted to do. To be told that you’re never going to work in an industry that you are passionate about, it’s a hard thing.”
So she didn’t file the lawsuit. Now, she’s relieved that #MeToo happened and caused a reckoning in the film industry. “I am glad that women are able to have more of a voice and be more protected,” said the 54-year-old. “If that happened at this age, I would handle it differently, but I was so young and an unknown and [just] starting out.”
Becoming a mother to daughters helped her see the importance of female strength. “I wish I had the confidence that they have because I would never be able to stand out for myself the way they do,” she said. “I didn’t, and I’m so proud of them. I’m so proud that they say what’s on their mind. They sometimes don’t have a filter, and a lot of the time, that is such a good thing.”
“I was such a people pleaser when I started my career,” she mused. But she was far from the only woman who was prevented from telling her story by the crushing weight of Hollywood misogyny. She definitely shouldn’t be judged for not speaking out beforehand—and it’s good that she feels safe enough to tell her story now.
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