Natalie Portman, with Eva Longoria and Constance Wu, said she was sexualized at 13, and had a man wrote her a letter detailing a rape fantasy. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Natalie Portman lent her voice to the Women's March Saturday, and revealed that the public's demeaning sexualizing of her at just 13 led her to streamline her career only to roles that made her feel safe from what she called "an environment of sexual terrorism."
Portman, 36, spoke to a crowd of hundreds of thousands at the march in downtown Los Angeles Saturday, and said her first taste of sexual harassment came after she starred in her first film, 1994's "Leon: The Professional."
Natalie Portman said experiencing "sexual terrorism" at the age of 13 made her feel the need to cover her body and inhibit expression while addressing thousands in LA gathered for the Women's March https://t.co/LjDJxrz1DVpic.twitter.com/X9Ee9dZUBM
— CNN (@CNN) January 21, 2018
The Oscar-winning actress told the audience that her excitement for the release of the film, in which she played a young girl seeking revenge for her family's murder, quickly soured when the focus turned from her acting abilities to her sex appeal.
"I excitedly opened my first fan mail to read a rape fantasy that a man had written me. A countdown was started on my local radio show to my 18th birthday, euphemistically the day I would be legal to sleep with. Movie reviewers talked about my budding breasts in reviews," she said.
Portman explained that in order to feel safe from men's objectification of her body, she began rejecting roles that placed her in sexual situations, including kissing scenes.
"I emphasized how bookish I was and how serious I was and I cultivated an elegant way of dressing. I built a reputation for basically prudish, conservative, nerdy, serious in an attempt to feel that my body was safe and my voice would be listened to…. I felt the need to cover my body and inhibit my expression and my work in order to send my own message to the world: that I'm someone worthy of safety and respect," she said.
Portman spoke to a crowd of more than 500,000 in Los Angeles.(EMMA MCINTYRE/GETTY IMAGES)
"The response to my expression from small comments about my body to more threatening deliberate statements served to control my behavior through an environment of sexual terrorism."
The "Black Swan" actress was one of many stars, including Scarlett Johansson and Viola Davis, to speak up at one of the dozens of Women's Marches that took place in cities across the country Saturday.
Portman is also one of the 300 prominent industry women who helped launch Time's Up, a new initiative to help combat sexual assault. She made headlines as a presenter at the Golden Globes Jan. 7 after she called out the Best Director nominees for being all male.
- ny news
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