Lindsay Lohan is facing a backlash for criticising the Me Too movement, saying it makes women "look weak".
In an interview with The Times, the actress and entrepreneur suggested she had never experienced sexual assault, and said women who had should immediately report such crimes to the police. By waiting to share their stories, Ms Lohan said victims were "taking away from the fact that it happened".
"I can’t speak on something I didn’t live, right?” She said. "If it happens at that moment, you discuss it at that moment. You make it a real thing by making it a police report. I’m going to really hate myself for saying this, but I think by women speaking against all these things, it makes them look weak when they are very strong women."
"You have these girls who come out, who don’t even know who they are, who do it for the attention," she continued. "That is taking away from the fact that it happened."
Her comments were met with disdain on social media and media companies like Vox, which noted "Concerns of reporting sexual abuse ‘for the attention’ aren’t supported by fact — but they are supported and perpetuated by statements like Lindsay Lohan’s.”
Others decided it was the final straw for Ms Lohan, who has seen her fair share of backlash over controversial statements she made supporting producer and alleged rapist Harvey Weinstein.
“I held out 'til now because of The Parent Trap, but: Lindsay Lohan, you are cancelled,” Jenny Hollander, deputy editor of Marie Claire, wrote on Twitter.
Ms Lohan previously defended Mr Weinstein in several now-deleted Instagram posts that simultaneously attacked his estranged wife, Georgina Chapman, for not “being there for him”.
“He’s never harmed me or did anything to me — we’ve done several movies together,” she wrote. “I think everyone needs to stop — I think it’s wrong. So stand up.”
The actress later clarified her statements, encouraging victims of sexual abuse to contact the appropriate authorities.
The Me Too movement has impacted various industries around the world, with numerous high-profile executives, politicians and media giants being exposed as alleged assaulters.
Meanwhile, Ms Lohan has seemingly become a cultural phenomenon — at least internationally — having launched numerous clubs in Greece named after her. She has also claimed to be working on building an exclusive island in Dubai.
