James Van Der Beek has come forward as a victim of sexual harassment, saying he’s had “my ass grabbed by older, powerful men.”
Without naming names, the actor made the stunning disclosure early Thursday in a series of tweets about Harvey Weinstein’s sex scandal.
“I’ve had my ass grabbed by older, powerful men, I’ve had them corner me in inappropriate sexual conversations when I was much younger…,” Van Der Beek wrote, adding, “I understand the unwarranted shame, powerlessness & inability to blow the whistle. There’s a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome.”
The 40-year-old father of four rose to fame as Dawson Leery on the hit WB show “Dawson’s Creek” in the late 1990s. The series, which ran for six seasons, also starred Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams.
Van Der Beek, who was 21 years old when the show debuted, also defended the women who’ve spoken out against Weinstein with claims of sexual assault or harassment.
“What Weinstein is being accused of is criminal. What he’s admitted to is unacceptable — in any industry. I applaud everybody speaking out,” the actor wrote.
Earlier this week, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Terry Crews told the public that he was sexually assaulted by an unnamed Hollywood executive.
“This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME…,” Crews tweeted Tuesday. “My wife n I were at a Hollywood function last year n a high level Hollywood executive came over 2 me and groped my privates.”
Crews said he didn’t “kick his ass” because he was worried about how the story would be spun in the media.
“’240 lbs. Black Man stomps out Hollywood Honcho’ would be the headline the next day,” Crews shared, adding that he wouldn’t have been able to read it because he “would have been in jail.”