British TV series star Laurence Fox revealed on Twitter that he was “sexually molested by a famous woman” and noted that it could “happen to anyone”, without providing further details.
I’ve been sexually molested by a famous woman.
— Laurence Fox 🇭🇰 (@LozzaFox) July 7, 2020
It can happen to anyone.
His laconic revelation was, however, met with a stream of jokes from his followers, including TalkRadio host Julia Hartley-Brewer, who rushed to mockingly note that she “didn’t lay a finger” on the actor.
“Tell that to the cops”, Fox joked.
“She was at pizza express Woking. She's clean”, someone replied to the actor’s comment potentially referring to Prince Andrew’s infamous alibi in relation to Epstein alleged sex slave Virginia Roberts’ allegations.
That’s my alibi and I’m sticking to it
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) July 8, 2020
Some also speculated that it was Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell the actor had in mind.
Ghislaine Maxwell?
— SJ (@sandra_j0) July 7, 2020
Jizz’don Maxwell?
— Findlay Ben (@FindlayBen) July 7, 2020
— @wishfix (@KEV26105) July 8, 2020
Others simply joked that the actor was quite “lucky” to get such an attention from a female celebrity.
Lucky man.
— Schweizermag (@Schweizermag) July 7, 2020
Stop bragging.
— Paul Japants (@PaulJapants) July 7, 2020
Can you send her around its been a long lockdown for me
— ianalexander (@ianalex67) July 7, 2020
Fox’s publicist later confirmed to MailOnline that the actor was dead serious about his revelation despite taking part in a joke contest that followed his tweet.
“I suppose that's slightly the problem with Laurence's sense of humour. But that was said seriously,” the actor’s representative commented.
Many still supported Fox’s decision to speak up about his experience, which they said should not be joked about.
“No one seems to have asked how old you were and what impact this had on you,” one user wrote.
It’s really awful that happened to you!😔
— Rio🌸 (@oh_heya) July 7, 2020
Some of these comments are just bizarre... would you be saying these things if a woman tweeted about being assaulted by a man?
It can totally happen to anyone & should be treated equally!😔
What the hell is wrong with you people, how can you joke about it, does it make you feel better when you try to make light of it.
— elizabe41995072 (@elizabe41995072) July 7, 2020
Absolutely disgusting replies to this tweet and people wonder why male suicide rates are at an all time high
— Scot leftie (@LeftieScot) July 7, 2020
Many replies here are exactly why men don't come forward.
— SpookyFaceGaming (@SpookyFaceGames) July 7, 2020
The star of Lewis drama landed in hot water this January after insisting that Meghan Markle’s departure from the United Kingdom was not caused by “racist” issues. In a verbal row with BBC’s Question Time, audience member Rachel Boyle, a lecturer on ethnicity, Fox accused the academic of racism after she told him that he was not properly positioned to comment on the recent developments in royal family due to his “white privilege”.
You were verbally molested on question time.
— 🏳️🌈 Socrates LGBT 🏳️🌈#BLM (@SocratesLGBT) July 7, 2020
He later entered another row after pointing out the “oddness in the casting” of Sam Mendes’ movie 1917 with the inclusion of a Sikh soldier. The actor was later forced to apologies for his remark, which angered many.
Laurence Fox repeatedly said in the past that he has often been silenced and driven out from the industry for expressing opinions that were not “correct”.