James Cameron addressed accusations made by actress Eliza Dushku Saturday in which she said she was sexually assaulted by a stuntman while shooting Cameron’s 1994 film “True Lies.”
Cameron said during a panel at the Television Critics Association press tour later that day that he “hadn’t given a lot of thought” to this particular situation, as he had just heard the news, but said Eliza was “very brave for speaking up” with her accusations against Joel Kramer.
He added that “directors are historically pretty oblivious to the interpersonal things on their set, being so focused on what they’re doing creatively,” but “had he known about it, there would have been no mercy.”
“It’s just heartbreaking that it happened to her,” Cameron said. “I mean I know the other party. And not well. He hasn’t worked for me since then. But um, you know, I think the fact that this was happening under our noses, and we didn’t know about it, I think going forward it’s important for all industries, certainly Hollywood, to create a safe avenue for people to speak up. That they feel safe. And that anybody who might be, you know, a predator or an abuser knows that that mechanism is there and that it’s encouraged. And that there is no shame around it. And that there will be consequences.”
Cameron said that the current climate full of sexual misconduct accusations is “a great moment in history” because of the change that can come from it. “This is not a reckoning for Hollywood. This is not a reckoning for America. This is a reckoning for the human race,” Cameron said, adding, “this shit has been going on since day one.”
Kramer vigorously denied the accusations leveled at him by actress Dushku Saturday, saying he “never sexual assaulted her” and that he was “shocked.” Saturday morning, Kramer told TheWrap, “I never sexually assaulted her. She’s a sweet girl. We all looked out for her, that’s surprising.”
“AMC Visionaries: James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction” premieres Monday, April 30 at 10 p.m. on AMC.