Actress Yael Stone, a series regular on Orange is the New Black, revealed in an interview with the New York Times that she had experienced sexual harassment at the hands of actor Geoffrey Rush. The crux of the interview, though, was that accusations of harassment in Australia are a much trickier bargain — and they're already a dangerous game in most countries. In Australia, defamation law protects those who have been defamed over those who did the defaming; if Stone's accusations were published in an Australian newspaper, she would be the party liable for the veracity of the claims.
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Per the story, Rush harassed Stone during their time working on the play The Diary of a Madman in 2010 and 2011. Rush, then 59, allegedly used a mirror to look at Stone while she showered in addition to sending the then 25-year-old erotic text messages. He also allegedly danced naked in front of her in their dressing room.
In his statement to the Times, Rush wrote, "I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most certainly, has never been my intention." He added that, from his point of view, he and Stone engaged in "a journey as artistic comrades."
Rush has previously been accused of misconduct by the actress Eryn Jean Norvill, who claimed the King's Speech actor harassed her during a production of King Lear in 2015. Rush sued The Daily Telegraph, a newspaper that published Norvill's accusations, and the paper is currently undergoing a trial.
Representation for Stone declined to comment.