Lionel Shriver, the prizewinning author, said that the movement has trivialised itself

Lionel Shriver says time should be called on the #MeToo movement because it is having a negative effect.

The author said it seemed that everyone “now has to have their own story of some terrible sexual abuse” to express an opinion on the subject.

She told The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival that she did not like the “adversarial relationship” that had developed between the sexes, adding that she did not want men to fear women.

Shriver, 61, who is best known for her prizewinning novel We Need To Talk About Kevin, which was turned into a film starring Tilda Swinton, admitted that she was a contrarian.

The British-based American author has often provoked controversy and earlier this year was dropped