Wonder Woman Lynda Carter joins #MeToo movement while discussing abuse on original TV show
Lynda Carter became famous in the 1970s for playing DC Comics’ iconic Amazonian in ABC’s Wonder Woman TV series. And now, she’s showing the same sort of strength and resolve that defined her superheroic character by speaking out about the sexual abuse and misconduct she suffered during her career — as well as by showing support for the burgeoning #MeToo movement.
In an interview with the Daily Beast’s Tim Teeman, Carter refuses to name names when it comes to the individual who mistreated her — though she’s quick to add that she believes “every woman” accusing both Bill Cosby and President Trump of wrongdoing. As for her own tormentor, she says he’s already facing “some form of punishment and justice,” so she feels “there’s no advantage in piling on again.” Still, he’s far from the only person to have sexually harassed or intimidated her, as she recounts one situation on the Wonder Woman set: “There was a cameraman who drilled a hole in my dressing room wall on the Warner Brothers lot. … They caught him, fired him, and drummed him out of the business.” Moreover, she says, “I fended off my share [of other incidents]. And I’ve been afraid. If a man tried something, I would say, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
The reason she didn’t speak up at the time, unsurprisingly, was fear of professional reprisal. “You wouldn’t do it. Who are you going to tell, your agent? Who’s going to believe you? No one’s going to believe you,” she says. “And when you did push back by saying, ‘Are you kidding me?’ they would say, ‘Yes, yes.’ But it was everywhere. You’d see girls being shaken in acting classes.”
That’s now changing thanks to #MeToo, which she views as a positive — and long-overdue — response to such behavior. “I asked my husband if he was surprised by all the #MeToo stories. ‘Yeah, I’m surprised,’ he said. Ask any woman, they’re not surprised,” she says. “It’s been going on for years. It’s not news to us [women], but it is news to you [men]. We’ve been trying to tell you. We’ve been trying to tell you for a long time and you haven’t listened.”
People are definitely listening now.
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