With Hollywood currently rocked by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Riverdale co-star Lili Reinhart has joined the chorus of voices, ranging from Rose McGowan to Terry Crews, that have come forward with their own personal accounts of sexual harassment in order to raise awareness and help break this vicious cycle in the entertainment industry.
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Reinhart, who plays Betty on the show, took to her Tumblr page to share a disturbing incident from early on her career, detailing a date with an older co-worker who tried to take advantage of her. “In light of the Harvey Weinstein allegations… I feel the need to share a story of my own personal experience where a man in a position of power over me, used that said power to try and take advantage of me,” she wrote.
The 21 year-old Reinhart stated that her alleged harasser, whom she didn’t name, “tried to force himself on me when we were on a date.” After rebuffing his advances, Reinhart said that she “physically walked away from the situation before it could get any worse,” but with no way of getting home she relied on her harasser to take her to where she was staying, only for more unwanted advances to ensue.
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“As we were driving, I realized he was trying to take me back to his apartment,” she revealed. “And I knew if I made it there, something bad was going to happen to me.” Reinhart eventually convinced the man to take her home and when she tried to discuss what happened with him on set the next day, he “proceeded to tell me that it was my fault for leading him on. I was miserable. And I felt that I needed to keep my mouth shut about the entire situation because 1. I figured no one would believe me and 2. he played a much bigger role in this project than me … he had more power,” as she elaborated on the pressures of being a victim afraid to speak out.
She concluded by expressing solidarity with those who’ve shared their stories against Weinstein — “I stand with them. I believe them. I believe in standing up for yourself as a woman and coming forward about sexual harassment” — and urged everyone to “take action to fight against it.” Hopefully, more will indeed take action in order to better the industry, and the world in general.