Björk Stands By Sexual Harassment Claims After Lars von Trier Denial, Reveals More ‘Paralyzing’ Abuse
Zack Sharf
Björk has issued another statement on her Facebook page in which she reveals more examples of the sexual harassment she received from an unnamed Danish director. The singer first shared her story in an October 15 post where she explained that she was framed as “the difficult one” and “punished” by her director after she repeatedly turned down his sexual advances and inappropriate behavior on set.
Björk did not name the director in her first post, but the only Danish director she has ever worked with on a feature film is Lars von Trier on his 2000 musical drama “Dancer in the Dark.” Even though von Trier wasn’t named, he publicly denied the singer’s accusation in a statement made to the Danish newspaper Jylannds Posten through his Zentropa business partner Peter Aalbaek Jensen. Jensen said von Trier was surprised by Björk’s claims and even called himself and the director the “victims” of Björk’s difficult nature on set.
In response to von Trier’s denial, Björk has released another statement as part of the #MeToo social media campaign in which stands by her claims against the still-unnamed Danish director and reveals even more “paralyzing” examples of the harassment and abuse she was victim to during the production.
“After each take the director ran up to me and wrapped his arms around me for a long time in front of all crew or alone and stroked me sometimes for minutes against my wishes,” Björk writes. “While filming in Sweden, he threatened to climb from his room´s balcony over to mine in the middle of the night with a clear sexual intention, while his wife was in the room next door.”
Björk also goes into further details about how the producers planted stories in the media about her being difficult after she refused the director’s advances. “This matches beautifully [with] the Weinstein methods and bullying,” she writes. “If being difficult is standing up to being treated like that, I’ll own it.”
“Dancer in the Dark” won the Palme d’Or at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, where Björk received the best actress prize. Von Trier has called her work “one of the greatest performances in [his] movies.” You can read Björk’s new statement below.
