The 81-year-old actor received lifetime achievement honour in a ceremony at the Deauville American Film Festival.
- September 10, 2018
AceShowbiz - Morgan Freeman made his first red carpet appearance since being accused of sexual harassment.
The 81-year-old appeared at the Deauville American Film Festival in France to receive his lifetime achievement honour in a ceremony on Friday, September 07.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Freeman became emotional as he made his brief acceptance speech, and seemingly acknowledged the accusations made against him.
"For reasons that are deeper than usual this year, I am grateful to receive this award," he said.
In May, the Million Dollar Baby star strongly denied the allegations after eight women accused the actor of sexual misconduct and "inappropriate behaviour" in a report by U.S. news network CNN.
"I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by (the) media reports," Freeman said in a statement. “All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humour".
He added: "I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false".
Earlier this month, Freeman's National Geographic show "The Story of God" was back on track after network bosses halted production following the CNN report and launched their own investigation.
"The results of this investigation revealed no incidents of concern during any of our work with Mr. Freeman," a network spokesman said. "We have now made the decision to move forward with the production of season three of 'The Story of God'".
