After two top employees of Los Angeles’ Cinefamily independent film venue resigned, actress Brie Larson posted a response to allegations of sexual harassment that led to their departure.
A report in variety.com quoted Indiewire saying that Larson co-founded the Women of Cinefamily support group with Tina Poppy and Alia Penner. Poppy previously left the organisation, and both Larson and Penner intend to step aside from their involvement with the group in the future.
Larson tweeted: “The allegations at Cinefamily are upsetting to me personally, both as an advocate for sexual assault survivors and a member of the community. Firstly, I would like to thank the brave survivors who spoke up — I believe you.
“The responsibility of handling allegations of this nature should never fall on the assaulted. Cinefamily prides itself on being a space of safety and communion — it is time for further action to ensure that.”
Cinefamily co-founder and executive director Hadrian Belove and Shadie Elnashai, vice president of the board of directors, stepped down “in light of recent event”, a Cinefamily statement read.
The recent events referred to an anonymous email that was sent to many Cinefamily members on Monday, citing a 2014 harassment case against Belove that ended in a settlement, as well as accusing Elnashai of “raping multiple women”.