Tom Hanks Weighs In on Hollywood’s Rampant Sexual Harassment Allegations

2 minute read
By Megan McCluskey

In the wake of the numerous allegations of sexual misconduct that have been leveled against men in Hollywood, Tom Hanks has explained why he isn’t surprised by the news.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 61-year-old actor said that an abuse of power led to the rampant reports of inappropriate sexual behavior in the film industry.

There’s a lot of reasons people do this for a living. Making a movie is a life experience that can create an awful lot of joy. You can meet the person you fall in love with, you can laugh your heads off. That’s the good stuff. The bad stuff can happen on a movie as well. There are some people who go into this business because they get off on having power. And the times they feel the most powerful, which is why they went into the business, are when they are hitting on somebody who’s underneath them, [and] I don’t necessarily mean completely sexually. There are predators absolutely everywhere.

However, Hanks also said that he believes the industry is capable of turning things around. “Somebody said, ‘Is it too late to change things?’ No, it’s never too late. It’s never too late to learn new behaviors. And that’s a responsibility of anybody who wants to obey a code of professional ethics.”

Prominent Hollywood figures such as producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, director Brett Ratner and comedian Louis C.K. have all been accused of initiating unwanted sexual advances.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com