Morgan Freeman’s Lawyer Demands Retraction From CNN on Harassment Story

An attorney for Morgan Freeman has issued a statement demanding CNN apologize and retract its May 24 story accusing the actor of multiple instances of sexual harassment.

In a letter to CNN president Jeff Zucker, Robert M. Schwartz, a lawyer for the Oscar-winning celebrity, claims the guide, where eight girls have accused Freeman of harassment and improper behavior, was"used to independently attack him." He proceeds to assert that the piece suffers from"...malicious intention, falsehoods, sleight-of-hand, an absence of editorial management, and journalistic malpractice."

Schwartz claims that among this article's authors Chloe Melas"baited and prodded" victims and witnesses to speak out from Freeman and was motivated by personal prejudice. Melas says she had been harassed by the actor during a junket interview for"Going in Style" -- at the moment, Freeman allegedly told the pregnant reporter that she was"ripe" and commented on her entire body. In his letter, Schwartz says an internal investigation from Warner Bros., the movie's producer, did not locate any wrong-doing. The two Warner Bros. and CNN have the same corporate parent company, Time Warner.

"The problem with Ms. Melas' account, which infected everything that she and CNN thereafter did, is her version of this interview is false," Schwartz writes. "It is based on her thinking that Mr. Freeman had said anything to harass her. However, there is considerable evidence that Ms. Melas imagined an episode, or exaggerated a non-malicious opinion wildly out of proportion to reality, to give her a basis to go after Mr. Freeman and lead to him the grave damage that CNN's narrative has inflicted."

A spokesperson for CNN hit at the letter in a statement, and noted that Freeman had originally apologized after the story came out.

"The baseless accusations made by Mr. Freeman's lawyer are inadequate and are difficult to settle with Mr. Freeman's public statements in the wake of the narrative," the statement reads. "CNN stands by its reporting and will respond forcefully to any attempt by Mr. Freeman or his agents to intimidate us from covering this important public issue."

Schwartz reacted to CNN's statement saying,"We presented CNN with objective evidence, including videotapes and on-the-record denials from the promised'victims,' the alleged incident that gave rise to the story never happened. We proved to CNN, beyond any doubt, that the whole story was built on fakery. The trustworthiness of the entire CNN attack on Mr. Freeman has been undermined. And in choosing to ignore all of the evidence that we presented, CNN has supported our worries regarding its reporters, its lack of supervision, and its gross misconduct in unjustifiably assaulting Mr. Freeman."

An Phung co-wrote the narrative with Melas. Freeman has been great in Hollywood for four years, appearing from the likes of"The Shawshank Redemption,""Million Dollar Baby," and"The Dark Knight."

After the record broke, Freeman apologized to anyone he could have"upset," but also denied any suggestion he assaulted women. The 80-year old celebrity has faced professional consequences. Visa suspended a promotion campaign with the celebrity, the town of Vancouver chose not to create Freeman the voice of its public transit system, and SAG-AFTRA may revoke the life achievement award it gave the star earlier this season.

Schwartz's letter says that Chicago Tyra Martin, who's cited in the post as one of Freeman's victims, has claimed that CNN misrepresented her remakes. Melas was the only victim cited by name in the story, but CNN talked to 16 people for the bit -- eight of them were victims and the other eight corroborated their balances.

In addition to attacking the reporting, Freeman's lawyer is demanding that the network retract parts of the story regarding his producing partner Lori McCreary. The article accuses McCreary and Freeman of boosting over a"toxic" work environment in their production company Revelations Entertainment, one where women were demeaned. It also notes McCreary was the subject of remarks about her shorts by Freeman when she appeared with the celebrity on a board at 2016's Produced By conference.

"At the very least, CNN immediately must issue a retraction and apologize to Mr. Freeman through the very same channels, and using the identical level of attention, it was used to unjustly attack him on May 24," Schwartz writes. "CNN also needs to retract the story that concerns Lori McCreary and apologize for her for defaming and injuring her."