#MeToo: Seal in hot water after taking on Oprah and ‘Hollywood hypocrisy’
Seal, who has come out in support of the #MeToo movement, is now under investigation for sexual battery after a former neighbour accused him of forcing himself on her in 2016.
According to TMZ, the allegations were made in a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s report, Randburg Sun reports.
This came after the singer launched an attack on Oprah Winfrey and her status as one of the leading advocates for the anti-sexual harassment initiative Time’s Up.
READ MORE: #MeToo campaign resonates with Egyptian women battling harassment
Oprah made headlines worldwide, with her speech at the Golden Globe Awards on 7 January which fuelled talk about presidential ambitions. In the speech, she called for an end to gender inequality and to attitudes, laws and practices that have long allowed men to get away with sexually harassing or abusing women.
In a controversial move, Seal posted a photo on his Instagram account, showing Winfrey with Harvey Weinstein, the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul accused of decades of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The caption, with the hashtag #SanctimoniousHollywood, read, “When you have been part of the problem for decades, but suddenly they all think you are the solution.”
Seal responded by saying that his attack was not directed at Winfrey specifically, but at the hypocritical double standards and behaviour of Hollywood.
“Now let’s get straight to it. Let me start by saying that I have an enormous amount of respect for everything that Oprah has achieved and contributed in her life. What I reposted was not an attack on Oprah at all. She just happened to be the person photographed with the pig (referring to Harvey Weinstein) in the picture. No, what I reposted was commentary on the hypocritical and double-standard nature and behavior of Hollywood.”
But then actress Tracey Birdsall made her allegation against him.
Birdsall told TMZ that Winfrey’s speech at the Golden Globes inspired her to report her encounter with Seal to the police.
A source with the sheriffs’ department confirmed that a report was taken and that the incident is under investigation.
A representative for the singer said in a statement that Seal “vehemently denies” the allegations made by Birdsall. “He intends to vigorously defend himself against these false allegations.”
#MeToo campaign resonates with Egyptian women battling harassment
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