Incident, which saw the actor allegedly ‘unzip his trousers’ during an audition in his office, follows similar claims of misconduct made by three other women

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Portia De Rossi has accused actor and producer Steven Seagal of sexually harassing her during an audition for one of his films.

The allegations, which were shared by the Arrested Development actor on Twitter, follows similar claims of misconduct made against Seagal by three other women.

“My final audition for a Steven Segal [sic] movie took place in his office,” De Rossi wrote. “He told me how important it was to have chemistry off-screen as he sat me down and unzipped his leather pants.”

“I ran out and called my agent. Unfazed, she replied, ‘Well, I didn’t know if he was your type,’” she added.

The Guardian has contacted Seagal’s representatives for comment on De Rossi’s claims.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Portia De Rossi. Photograph: BFA.com/Rex Shutterstock

Following the incident, De Rossi’s wife, talk show host Ellen De Generes tweeted that she was “proud” of her.

Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) I’m proud of my wife. https://t.co/NABbOJoBrf

De Rossi’s allegations come in the wake a claim made against Seagal by former ER and The Good Wife actor Julianna Margulies, who on Saturday told SiriusXM’s Jenny Hutt that he had summoned her to a late-night audition at his hotel when she was 23. Margulies claimed that she had initially been told that a female casting director would be in attendance for the audition, but that when she arrived Seagal was alone.

“I saw his gun; I had never seen a gun in real life. I got out of there unscathed … I don’t know how I got out of that hotel room. I sorta screamed my way out,” she claimed.

Another actor, Lisa Guerrero, alleges that Seagal once conducted a 1996 audition with her for the film Fire Down Below while wearing only a silk robe. Following the audition, Guerrero’s manager told her that Seagal was willing to offer her the lead role in the film if she attended a “private rehearsal” with him. Guerrero, who is now a broadcaster, says she declined the offer.

A similar claim was made by actor Rae Dawn Chong, who told The Wrap that Seagal wore only a bathrobe to a hotel audition in the 1980s and later allegedly exposed himself to her. Chong says that for several years after the incident, Seagal would leave “sex messages” on her answering machine.

Seagal has not responded to any of these previous claims made against him.