Margot Robbie is speaking out about the education on sexual harassment the movie “Bombshell” provided.
Robbie, 32, played the fictionalized Kayla Pospisil in the 2019 drama depicting the culture at Fox News in 2016, one of misogyny that lead to the ousting of CEO Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), who was accused of sexual harassment by more than 20 women including Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron).
Robbie shared Tuesday at BAFTA’s Life in Pictures talk spotlighting her career that she was inclined to commit to “Bombshell” so she could fill in the gaps of her understanding on sexual harassment, Variety and Metro UK report.
“I realized that I – as a person with an established position in the industry, financially set up and self-sufficient – I didn’t know the definition of sexual harassment, and that’s shocking,” Robbie said, according to the outlets.
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The “Amsterdam” star says her little knowledge of the subject matter before “Bombshell” “horrified” her, and after making the film she learned sexual harassment flourishes “in the gray area.”
Roger Ailes or Harvey Weinstein “take advantage of the area,” Robbie said. “The situation isn’t black and white.”
Robbie said the subject of the film weighed on her.
“The second I could stop being Kayla, I did,” said Robbie, according to Variety. “It was definitely something I wanted to tap out of at the end.”
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Ailes denied accusations of sexual harassment but stepped down from his role of chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel in July 2016. He died the following year after suffering a fall.
Weinstein, who Robbie also referenced, is serving a 23-year sentence for his 2020 New York conviction of sexual assault and third-degree rape.
His second criminal trial is underway in Los Angeles, carrying intense testimony from accusers on the 11 sex crime charges he is facing. The prosecution rested its case, and the jury has been dismissed for Thanksgiving. Court is expected to resume Monday. If Weinstein is found guilty, he faces up to 135 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
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Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Elise Brisco
