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Brendan Fraser was all over Hollywood in the early 90’s up until the early-aughts, thanks to a successful run of comedies and blockbusters including “Encino Man,” “Airheads,” “George of the Jungle,” “Gods and Monsters” (far and away his best film), “The Mummy” trilogy, “The Quiet American,” “Crash,” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” They’re not all movies I would recommend, but he clearly connected with a wide audience.

However, something happened after that third “Mummy” movie, which a remarkable and well-written GQ profile by Zach Baron examines. In the article, Fraser insinuates that he backed away from Hollywood, in part because he was sexually assaulted by former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Philip Berk at a HFPA luncheon in 2003.

“His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,” Fraser said about the alleged incident.

“I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry,” the actor added, saying he immediately rushed out of the room.

Fraser’s representatives asked the HFPA afterwards for a written apology and Berk did in fact write it, but it “admitted to no wrongdoing.” Berk assets today that “Mr. Fraser’s version is a total fabrication.”

Fraser eventually became depressed post-incident, which he states “made me retreat. It made me feel reclusive.”

The HFPA has finally released a statement today, following the bombshell GQ article, telling US Weekly:

The HFPA stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behavior described in this article. Over the years we’ve continued a positive working relationship with Brendan, which includes announcing Golden Globe nominees, attending the ceremony and participating in press conferences. This report includes alleged information that the HFPA was previously unaware of and at this time we are investigating further details surrounding the incident.

Riding out some years of sporadic activity in smaller scale projects, Fraser has slowly been making a comeback thanks to roles in “The Affair” and “Texas Rising.” Up next is FX’s “Trust,” which is Danny Boyle‘s miniseries about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping which comes hot off the heels of Ridley Scott‘s Getty pic “All the Money in the World.” After that, Fraser continues his Peak TV run with “Condor,” a limited series adaption of Sydney Pollack’s classic “Three Days of the Condor.”