Charlize Theron has claimed that a photographer "verbally abused" her for 15 hours during her modelling days.
The South African star began her career as a model after winning a local competition at the age of 16, before moving to Milan, Italy. She later relocated to the United States and transitioned into acting.
In a new interview with AnOther magazine, Charlize reflected on her early experiences as a model.
"I told my daughters the other day about a job I had - I remember this photographer yelling at me, verbally abusing me for like 15 hours on a shoot, and just not feeling human," she said, referring to her daughters Jackson and August.
The Mad Max: Fury Road star claimed this kind of treatment "still happens", adding, "I recently worked with a photographer who would aggressively walk up to me and put his hands on me, tying my shirt. I had to say something."
Elsewhere in the interview, Charlize, 50, noted that while the industry has come "a long way" since she started, it still has significant progress to make for women.
"I think that's the most frustrating thing about it for women," she stated. "It's four steps forward and 20 steps back, but we've come a long way since I started, for sure. You had to squeeze your way in. And really the only way to get in there was to be the trophy, sexy person."
The Atomic Blonde actress has previously spoken openly about her negative experiences as a model. During a 2019 interview, she recalled an uncomfortable meeting at a producer's house in Los Angeles.
"I should've (turned around and left). I didn't. But he had a very healthy ego, he felt very good about himself," she recalled at the time. "Then we sat down and started talking. He sat very close to me, that was strange. The drinking bothered me, I was like, 'This doesn't feel right.'"
She added that at one point the producer "put (his) hand on (her) knee", noting, "And it's crazy, and girls talk about this, where you just go blank. Like, you don't know what to do."
