Emma Thompson’s teenage daughter was the victim of a sexual assault last year.
The 59-year-old actress has revealed that her 18-year-old daughter Gaia was groped as she travelled on the London Underground in 2017, and that the incident has subsequently left her feeling reluctant to travel on the city’s subway system.
She shared: "My daughter had the experience of being felt up on the Tube and felt very nervous about going out on the tube for a long time afterwards."
Emma – who has starred in a host of hit films, including 2017’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – revealed that Gaia has been hesitant about talking about the incident.
Speaking to the Daily Express, Emma explained: "She said the thing that upset her most was not the act itself but the fact that she felt cowed enough by it not to call him out.
"And I think that what we suffer as women most from our shame at not being able to say ‘Why are you doing this?’
"We’re so shocked and undermined by these actions that we can’t turn around and take the action that we want and that’s the thing that sits with us and sticks with us. Which is so unjust."
Emma was one of the most outspoken figures in Hollywood during the movie industry’s sex abuse scandal in 2017.
The Academy Award-winning actress rubbished suggestions that Harvey Weinstein’s alleged abuse of up-and-coming actresses and other figures within the business was the result of a sex addiction.
Emma said: "I don’t think you can describe him as a sex addict. He’s a predator.
"He’s an actual predator, he’s dangerous and what he’s done and what he’s doing is criminal."
Emma Thompson reveals her daughter has been sexually assaulted
