Abbey Lee urges women to keep speaking out on sexual harassment

US-based Melbourne actor Abbey Lee wants women to keep speaking out for change, saying she battles sexual harassment on a daily basis.

Abbey Lee she battles sexual harassment on a daily basis. Picture: Sarah Matray

US-based Melbourne actor Abbey Lee wants women to keep speaking out for change, saying she battles sexual harassment on a daily basis.

Lee, who starred in Mad Max: Fury Road, told the Herald Sun: “It’s relieving that it’s … being so publicly spoken about.

“Every female has experienced some level of sexual harassment in their lives and I certainly have, especially in the industry I’ve been in since I was such a young girl.

US BOOK OF MORMON BOSSES TAKE REINS IN WAKE OF SCANDAL

“It’s quite moving for me, personally. I keep hearing people say there’s all this focus on the acting industry, but they also have such a grand power to be able to reach so many people.”

Her comments follow claims of a bullying culture at the Australian production of the hit musical, The Book Mormon, which is currently being performed at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre.

Abbey Lee wants women to keep speaking out for change. Picture: Sarah Matray

As revealed in the Herald Sun yesterday, the US management of The Book Of Mormon is taking over the running of the show from Australian producers amid claims some cast members are being bullied and harassed.

The hit musical, written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is produced in Australia by the Gordon Frost Organisation, which also produces The Rocky Horror Show.

Sources said complaints from the Australian production included “persistent undermining” and being made to “feel disposable”.

Another industry source said half the crew had resigned from the show because they said they were being treated badly. “It’s 1960s stuff,” an insider said.

“There’s manipulation and it’s really quite sickening.”

The Book Of Mormon takeover by US bosses follows sexual misconduct and bullying allegations made by actors Erika Heynatz, Christie Whelan-Browne and Angela Scundi against fellow Rocky Horror Show actor Craig McLachlan.

McLachlan has strenuously denied the claims, which are alleged to have occurred during the show’s 2014 tour.

Meanwhile, Lee, who is attending the Portsea Polo today, as a guest of Stella Artois, said she wanted to see a change in the perceptions of women.

“It seems almost like surprising or a phenomenon when a woman does something great,” she said.

“I’m just so tired of it and it’s a constant thing.

“For me, this stuff that’s coming out specifically about sexual harassment — it’s just one element of it.”

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