Anna Faris reveals Ivan Reitman touched her inappropriately during My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Anna Faris previously spoke of a director who "slapped [her] ass" on set of a film, who she now claims was Ivan Reitman
Aux News Anna Faris
Back in 2017 as the #MeToo movement was unfolding, Anna Faris shared a story on her podcast Unqualified about how a director “slapped [her] ass in front of the crew” while filming a movie. At the time, she didn’t reveal any identifying details of the incident. Now, on a new episode of the podcast with guest Lena Dunham, Faris revealed that the director in question was Ghostbusters’ Ivan Reitman during My Super Ex-Girlfriend.
Discussing what makes filming with a director good or bad, Faris told Dunham that her negative experiences happen when a director “scares the shit out of” her. “Can I speak ill of the dead?” she asked. “One of my hardest film experiences was with Ivan Reitman. I mean, the idea of attempting to make a comedy under this, like, reign of terror, he was a yeller. He would bring down somebody every day. And my first day, it was me.”
She went on to describe how she was 20 to 25 minutes late for her first scene because someone had accidentally dumped wig glue all over her. “I’m, like, in the middle of the street that’s all lit, you know, it’s a night shoot, and Ivan is just taking me down. … And I felt angry, and hurt, and humiliated, and defensive. Eventually I said, ‘Did no one tell you what happened?’ And at that point he kind of just shut up and went behind the camera,” she recalled. “But then later, he slapped my ass too. That was a weird moment.”
“I don’t think you’re the first person who’s reported that. And I’m so sorry you had that experience. And did no one step in and say, ‘No?’” Dunham asked. “No, it was like 2006,” Faris replied. “It was like, I am gonna lay low and play it safe. I am taking zero risk in this movie.”
“With that incident, I think that I’m still of the generation, of the mentality of like, how to calibrate that element,” she continued. “Like, on one hand, it wasn’t anything, whatever, my ass is fine. On the other hand, it was like, I did have like 30 people around me, I think expecting me to do something. And I didn’t.”
When Faris shared this story with guest Arielle Kebbel back in 2017, she said that “all I could do was giggle” even though “it made me feel small. He wouldn’t have done that to the lead male.” She added, “I remember that same director telling my agent, who told me, that I had great legs and that was one of the reasons that I got hired. And listen, that’s a fucking great compliment. I like my legs. But that sort of informed my whole experience with that whole project. I don’t think the male lead got hired because he had great legs. Therefore I felt like I’m hired because of these elements—not because of [talent].”
In the present, Dunham spoke on directors being the “figureheads” of a production, setting the tone for their sets. “I think my early experience, it was that time, you know? It was that time still,” Faris said. “When you speak about figurehead, I think that there was a mentality that it was supposed to be something else. It was supposed to be an asshole as a figurehead. A scary one.”
74 Comments
“who she now claims was revealed to be Ivan Reitman”
I know white women don’t tend to believe women, but do better please.
Lena dunham admitted to sexually abusing her underage sibling btw
But they weren’t making a movie. That was just around the house.
Your comment is dumb or (more likely) deliberately misleading. The event you’re talking about happened when Dunham was 7, and no one who takes childhood sexual assault seriously would characterize it as sexual abuse:https://www.vox.com/2014/11/8/7157065/dunham-child-abuse
“During the windfall of deeply necessary accusations over the last few months in Hollywood, we have been thrilled to see so many women’s voices heard and dark experiences in this industry justified. It’s a hugely important time of change and, like every feminist in Hollywood and beyond, we celebrate. But during every time of change there are also incidences of the culture, in its enthusiasm and zeal, taking down the wrong targets. We believe, having worked closely with him for more than half a decade, that this is the case with Murray Miller. While our first instinct is to listen to every woman’s story, our insider knowledge of Murray’s situation makes us confident that sadly this accusation is one of the 3 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year.” -Lena Dunham
I’m not sure what you think this shows. Lilnapoleon suggested Dunham herself committed sexual abuse of a child, and I disputed that. Your quote does not comment on the allegations.At worst, you seem to be suggesting that Dunham is not sufficiently willing to believe sexual assault allegations. First of all, that’s obviously way different from a claim that she committed assault herself. Second of all, you don’t provide any evidence about the credibility of these accusations — some rape allegations are false, albeit at a far lower level that many believe. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute this case in part because of “inconsistencies which cannot be overcome.” That doesn’t mean the accusations against Miller were false — many rape cases involve factual inconsistencies that make conviction challenging — but you haven’t provided any basis for thinking that Dunham is wrong.
It’s a mental cul de sac – any mention of Lena Dunham is going to bring people out of the woodwork armed with stories and quotes from her long, often bizarre public life. Especially in this context, where Dunham has no bearing on the story, it’s just an internet reflex.
I don’t even like Durham, and still think the accusations being launched about her here are nonsense.
lol Do you think you sound smart and reasonable defending Lena Dunham as she helps her friend get away with rape?
“lol Do you think you sound smart and reasonable defending Lena Dunham as she helps her friend get away with rape?”
Do you think you come off as rational and not a fucking moron for pretending that a 7-year old sexually abused another child?
He’s a troll. The other day he went on a tangent about beating children bc he thinks I give a fuck.
I half agree with both of you. I know people who have had similar things happen, like their similarly aged cousin touched them inappropriately when watching a movie with nudity, and it fucks them up and they still can’t watch nudity in films because it’s triggering. So, while being 7 is a fair defense, the young age doesn’t mean the victim won’t have lifelong trauma from things like this. Not that that’s the case here but.
You mean when as a curious 7 year old she did something she didn’t know was inappropriate because she was a 7 year old who didn’t know it was inappropriate. To be honest I’d be more concerned about those who think this was sexual abuse.
Ooh, whataboutism! A rare treat!
Have Ivan Reitman and Leonard Cohen ever been photographed together?
Yeah, last week.
Nay
Man, what an insult to Cohen
He only touched Anna’s perfect body with his mind.
Only one of them played a baddie in Miami Vice. And not the guy you’d think.
Believe it or not, it was totally the one I thought!
Very surprised. He does not look at all like the type of person to have done something like that.
Neither did Kevin Spacey.
No, he did.
Nah, from my experience with other gay men, Spacey definitely looks the type you tell your friends to steer clear of.
I was this many days old when I learned it’s totally okay to assume someone is or isn’t a sexual predator because of the way they look.
You were also today years old when you learned sarcasm existed.
Ah, so you meant that Reitman does look like that kind of person?
And therefore…so does Leonard Cohen?
*Leonard Cohen grumbles mildly from beyond the grave*
And it’s . . . beautiful
Awww, look at you, pretending you were being sarcastic.
Should we all pretend we believe you?
yeah, sure he was…
Surely whether your point was sincere (“He does not look the way I imagine a sex offender looks”) or sarcastic (“I’m saying he doesn’t look the way I imagine a sex offender looks, but I am implying the opposite”), it’s still based on the fundamental idea that you can tell someone is a sex offender by appearance alone?
maybe its not the best idea to get your ideals from a comment section of a clickbait website
Being able to read body language and facial cues is a thing.
Before I point out that “being able to tell that someone is a sex pest by looking at their body language and facial cues, absent any overt act, is complete nonsense,” let me know if you’re being sarcastic~
A predator’s a predator. I don’t really give a fuck if he’s a sex pest or has anger issues or is trying to get you into MLM.
What I do know is to avoid them.
Look, if you want to completely change the subject and make a point totally unrelated to what I was saying, you could just ask.
I didn’t know I needed permission to answer the question you asked me.
I didn’t ask you any questions.
My bad. You said “let me know”, so I did. Won’t make that mistake again.
Nobody was saying predators are good or don’t exist; just expressing skepticism at your claims concerning their instant visual detectability.
It depends. Some are wearing giant neon signs, most take about half an hour. YMMV for ‘instant’.
I gotta bridge you can buy as well. It’s in Brooklyn, slightly used. LOL!
This is not a shock considering the way women are generally depicted in his movies. They’re mostly just there to be the stock girlfriend role while the men drive the story.
This kind of comment is like using rap lyrics as evidence in court.
Not really when he treats women with no respect in real life
“They’re mostly just there to be the stock girlfriend role while the men drive the story.”
so like how women are portrayed in 99% of movies?
Anna Faris previously spoke a director who “slapped [her] ass” on set of a filmYou’ve omitted a word.
Someone doesn’t know how brackets work.
Someone is looking at the wrong part of the sentence… “spoke a director.”
“about” is the missing word. Anna Faris previously spoke about a director who…
Oh, it’s just a typo Nazi? It’s already been fixed.
Boy, you really showed them by condescendingly getting it wrong and then pretending you weren’t being a typo cunt yourself.
“Nitpicking a blog post is comparable to the Holocaust”- TigerNightmare
Guess you didn’t like that Seinfeld episode about the soup nazi, which also was not a literal reference. I guess that makes you a pedant nazi.
a director who about “slapped [her] ass”?
“slapped about her ass”.
Slapped her ass about?
I’m not sure what you mean. I’m referring to previously spoke a director.
Already had mixed feelings on Reitman because I absolutely love Ghostbusters and Stripes even though those movies are infused with his Reaganite capitalism-loving politics and I’m the complete opposite of those values. This sucks but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Call him out before he is 6 feet under.
Um…
It’s awful she had to go through that and I wish she would have said something before he died… too bad.On a side note, does every celebrity have a podcast these days? Isn’t posting your daily activities on twitter enough?
does every celebrity body have a podcast these days?
No. Everybody has had a podcast for the last decade. Where the fuck have you been?
I’m shocked that a man born in 1940s eastern Europe who went on to direct some of the most cocaine-fueled comedy films in 1980s Hollywood history may have, once or twice, misbehaved around women according to 2022 standards.
According to 20th century standards, too, bub. once or twiceSmoke, fire.
The URL: anna-faris-inappropriately-touched-ivan-reitman-on-set
You’ve heard of “burying the lede”? Let me introduce you to “reanimating the lede but it comes back wrong”.
Holy shit, I thought you were joking but it actually is.
I check these things before clicking AV Club links at work.
Ivan Reitman sexually harassed someone; Bill Murray’s sins are surfacing too fast to count; Dan Aykroyd has become a lunatic; even Ernie Hudson said some stupid stuff about the GB reboot. Harold Ramis seems like a good guy, but he isn’t here for us anymore, sadly.That leaves us with Rick Moranis and William “Dickless” Atherton as the laudable men of Ghostbusters.