Oliver Stone has fired back at allegations of sexual harassment made against him by actress Melissa Gilbert.
During an interview with Andy Cohen on his satellite radio show on Monday (20Nov17), Gilbert accused the filmmaker of turning her audition for his 1991 The Doors biopic into a "humiliating and horrid" experience.
The former Little House on The Prairie child star recalled Stone asking her to perform "a special scene" with an actor, adding, "(He said), 'I want to see the chemistry with the two of you'. The whole scene was just my character on her hands and knees saying, 'Do me, baby!' Really dirty, horrible."
Gilbert told Cohen she refused to "stage" the scene for Stone, and fled the room in tears, convinced the director concocted the plan as payback for a tense exchange they once had in a club.
Stone has now responded to the actress' accusations, insisting he made it clear to all the actresses auditioning to play Jim Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson what the role required, adding he made sure there was "a safe environment" for all.
"We auditioned dozens of actors for roles in The Doors and it was made clear from the outset that our film was going to be a raunchy, no-holds-barred rock ‘n’ roll movie," Stone said in a statement sent to Deadline. "Anyone auditioning was told the scenes would be rehearsed and performed from a script, with my casting director, Risa Bramon Garcia, present throughout the process to ensure a safe environment for all actors who auditioned."
Garcia has added a statement of her own, which reads: "The auditions process for The Doors was challenging given the nature of the material and the subject of the film. However, every actor who auditioned came in voluntarily and was aware of the provocative material prior to engaging in their scenes.
"No actor was forced or expected to do anything that might have been uncomfortable, and most actors embraced the challenge, recognizing Oliver Stone’s vision and the creative process. In my experience, there was no attempt to personally offend any particular actor."
Meg Ryan eventually landed the role of Courson, opposite Val Kilmer's Jim Morrison.
