I did not assault women: Morgan Freeman
Los Angeles, May 26 : Legendary actor Morgan Freeman, who has been accused of sexual harassment by eight women, has said he did not create "unsafe work environment" and he did not "assault women".
Through his publicist Stan Rosenfield, Freeman came out with a statement on Friday, reported variety.com.
The statement read: "I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday's media reports."
"All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humour.
"I admit that I am someone who feels a need to try to make women-and men-feel appreciated and at ease around me. As a part of that, I would often try to joke with and compliment women, in what I thought was a light-hearted and humorous way."
The Oscar winning actor said that he was not always coming across the way he intended.
"And that is why I apologised Thursday and will continue to apologise to anyone I might have upset, however unintentionally," he added.
"But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false," Morgan concluded.
A CNN report has quoted multiple women, including journalists, describing troubling incidents throughout the 80-year-old actor's career that spans nearly five decades.
Following the allegations, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is in the process of determining if any action will be necessary regarding its lifetime achievement award recipient.
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UP CM Adityanath's plane makes emergency landing in Agra due to technical snag
Agra/Lucknow, Mar 26 (PTI): An aircraft carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made an emergency landing at the Agra airport shortly after take off due to a technical snag, officials said.
The chief minister resumed his journey to Lucknow after over two hours, they said.
Adityanath was in Agra for a public event to mark the eighth anniversary of the BJP government in the state.
"After the programme, the chief minister was scheduled to leave from the Kheria Airport in Agra around 3.30 pm. The aircraft took off but returned shortly apparently due to a snag, which was then inspected by officials," a police official told PTI.
"The chief minister finally resumed his onward journey around 5.30 pm from Kheria," the official added.
Senior Agra district administration and police officials remained at the airport while the chief minister waited there. BJP supporters and local politicians were also present outside the airport.
Earlier in the day, Adityanath inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 128 projects worth Rs 635.22 crore at 'Vikas Utsav' held in Agra to mark the completion of eight years of his government.
"Residents of Agra now have access to metro rail services, officially making Agra a metro city. The construction of the civil terminal at the airport is in its final stages," he said, adding that previous governments failed to provide these facilities.
