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Keira Knightley: 'I don't know anyone who hasn't been' sexually harassed

Keira Knightley actress
Posted at 11:52 AM, Jun 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-08 12:53:10-04

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, actress Keira Knightley spoke out against sexual harassment and misogyny in the entertainment industry and in society at large.

Kightley, best known for her work in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and her role in "Pride & Prejudice," told the magazine that she doesn't know any women who haven't experienced some form of harassment.

"Yes! I mean, everybody has," Knightley said when asked if she had experienced harassment. "Literally, I don't know anyone who hasn't been, in some way, whether it's being flashed at, or groped, or some guy saying they're going to slit your throat, or punching you in the face, or whatever it is, everybody has."

Knightley called the challenges that women face "f****** depressing."

"It was when women started listing all the precautions they take when they walk home to make sure they're safe, and I thought, 'I do every single one of them, and I don't even think about it,'" Knightley told Bazaar.

Knightley was referring to the March 3 murder of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old marketing manager who went missing as she walked home. Everard's death inspired women across the U.K. to share stories about the precautions they take when they walk home.

Journalist Lydia Slater reported that during her interview with Knightley, a male stranger cat-called Knightley as they walked down a street by shouting at her, "Do you go to this school? You look very young."

"I think it's quite interesting talking about this while being chased around," Knightley said.

Knightley also expressed support for Baroness Jenny Jones, a politician who proposed a 6 p.m. curfew for men during a Parliamentary session shortly after Everard's murder. Jones suggested the curfew after some officials warned women against going out at night.

"I love that politician who said there ought to be a curfew for men and men were outraged, and you think — but there's a curfew for women and there always has been," Knightley said.

Knightley has laid low during the pandemic and added during her interview that wearing a mask has been a "liberating" experience for her. She'll appear next in "Silent Night," a Christmas movie that's slated for release later this year.