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Geoffrey Rush Embroiled In Sexual Misconduct Allegations

December 17, 2018 / 3:32 PM EST / CBS Detroit

NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Yael Stone from "Orange Is the New Black" has alleged that while starring in "The Diary of a Madman" with Geoffrey Rush in 2010, the actor engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with her.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 02: Yael Stone attends the Australian LGBTI Awards at The Star on March 2, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/Getty Images for Australian LGBTI Awards)

Speaking to The New York Times , the 33-year-old said Rush danced naked in front of her in their dressing room, used a mirror to watch her while she showered and sent her occasionally erotic texts.

Stone said she "enthusiastically and willingly" replied to the texts from her fellow Australian actor when she was 25 and he was 59.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 05: Australian actor Geoffrey Rush poses next to the costume we wore when he played King Berenger in 'Exit The King' as he attends the media preview of ''The Extraordinary Shapes of Geoffrey Rush' exhibition at the Arts Centre Melbourne on July 5, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. The exhibition celebrates one of Australias best-known actors. Featuring costumes, photographs, moving image and personal items, the exhibition highlights roles created by Geoffrey Rush in plays including Exit the King, The Diary of a Madman and The Importance of Being Earnest, and in films such as Shine, Quills, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Kings Speech. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

"I was so flattered that someone like that would spend their time texting me into the very early hours of the morning," she said. "Gradually the text messages became more sexual in nature, but always encased in this very highfalutin intellectual language."
"I'm embarrassed by the ways I participated," Stone said. "I certainly wouldn't engage as the person I am now in the way I did when I was 25."

Stone said she was trying to manage "uncomfortable moments" without offending the star.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: (L-R) Actors Lea DeLaria, Yael Stone, and Jackie Cruz, co-winners of the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series award for 'Orange Is the New Black,' pose in the press room during the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Expo Hall on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

In a statement , Rush said the allegations "are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context."
"However, clearly Yael has been upset on occasion by the spirited enthusiasm I generally bring to my work. I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most certainly, has never been my intention," Rush said. A representative for Stone referred The Associated Press to her original comments. A Rush representative did not return an email seeking additional comments Monday morning.

Geoffrey Rush leaves court with his wife Jane Menelaus on November 9, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. The three-week trial concluded today, with Justice Michael Wigney to deliver his verdict early next year. Geoffrey Rush is suing The Daily Telegraph for defamation over a series of articles that were published in late November and early December 2017 that alleged he behaved inappropriate during a 2015 stage production of King Lear. (Photo by Jessica Hromas/Getty Images)

The allegations came as Rush awaited a verdict in a defamation lawsuit that he filed in Australia. Rush sued the Daily Telegraph's publisher, Nationwide News, and a journalist over two articles and a newspaper poster published in 2017. They related to a report he behaved inappropriately toward a co-star during a Sydney Theatre Company production of King Lear in 2015 and 2016.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 30: Director and executive producer Ron Howard and actor Geoffrey Rush on stage during a Q&A session after the London Premiere Screening for National Geographic's "Genius" at Cineworld London on March 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for National Geographic)

The Academy Award-winning actor denied the allegation. A judge is expected to issue a ruling next year.

Sexual Misconduct