"I’ve had my ass grabbed by older, powerful men, I’ve had them corner me"

Van Der Beek made the claims on Twitter in a series of posts that offered support to the women who had spoken out against Weinstein. “For anyone judging the women who stayed silent, read this for perspective. Also for anyone brushing off harassment as ‘boys being boys’,” he wrote, linking to an article from fashion website The Cut that detailed a writer’s hotel-room experience with a “powerful man”.

The former Dawson’s Creek actor went on to recount his own personal experience of abuse, though he did not name names. “I’ve had my ass grabbed by older, powerful men, I’ve had them corner me in inappropriate sexual conversations when I was much younger,” he wrote. “I understand the unwarranted shame, powerlessness & inability to blow the whistle. There’s a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome”.