Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush has denied claims he acted inappropriately toward an actress more than seven years ago. Yael Stone, who appeared in “Orange is the New Black” on Netflix, said in a series of interviews that Rush sent sexually suggestive text messages, exposed himself and attempted to watch her shower during their stint together in “Diary of a Madman” at Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre in 2010 and 2011.
Rush was 59 at the time; Stone was 25 and played a relatively minor part in the play. In a statement to CNN, Rush said that Stone’s allegations were incorrect. “From the outset I must make it clear that the allegations of inappropriate behavior made by Yael Stone are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context,” Rush said. Stone said she waited years to come forward with the allegations due to fears that publicly accusing a major star could ruin her career.
Rush sued Australian newspaper “The Daily Telegraph” for defamation, after it published allegations he acted inappropriately during a production of King Lear in Sydney in 2015-2016. A judge is expected to hand down a decision in that case in early 2019.
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