Actor Brendan Fraser Says Former Golden Globes President Sexually Assaulted Him

In a lengthy new interview with GQ magazine, Brendan Fraser discussed his rocky acting career, saying that, in part, he stepped away from Hollywood after being sexually assaulted by a former president of the Foreign Press Association in 2003.

In the piece, called "Whatever Happened to Brendan Fraser?" the "Mummy" star opens up about the incident with Philip Berk, who was the president of the organization that oversees the Golden Globe Awards at the time. Fraser, who stars in the upcoming FX series "Trust," said during a luncheon held by the HFPA at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003, Berk reached around, grabbed the actor's behind and that "one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around...I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me," Fraser said.

The actor added he removed Berk's hand and left the hotel, heading home.

"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," Fraser told GQ, adding that he felt worried his claim would "becoming part of [his] narrative" and began feeling he deserved what had happened to him. He said the incident "made me retreat. It made me feel reclusive."

Berk, however, has a different account of the incident, which he discussed in his memoir. It was also detailed in a New York Times story by Sharon Waxman. Berk claims he pinched Fraser's behind as a joke. After a request from Fraser's reps, Berk also wrote an apology to the actor but when speaking with GQ magazine, Berk said he "admitted to no wrongdoing" and that "Mr. Fraser's version is a total fabrication."

Other factors played into Fraser's career - he also talks about the extensive surgery he underwent to recover from starring in the "Mummy" franchise. Nevertheless, he said the incident with Berk impacted his sense of "who I was and what I was doing. In my mind, at least, something had been taken away from me."