Veteran actor James Caan didn't have much to say about sexual harassment allegations against fellow screen icon Morgan Freeman, telling TMZ on Thursday "no comments on Morgan, he's a good guy."
But as Caan sat in a car outside a West Hollywood restaurant and signed an autograph, he did offer a take about culture in general after being told Freeman already lost endorsements over the allegations.
"We're becoming a very strange place," Caan said. "I think that's why God made men and women so they could be attracted to each other."
Caan — known best for his role as bad-tempered Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather" — is Jewish and had harsh words for "anti-Semites" in the entertainment industry, telling the Media Line in 2016 that had any of them asked him to not visit Israel, "they would have gotten punched in the face."
He also said in the same interview that former President Barack Obama "is partially responsible for the black-white divide. He’s done less for 'his people' or Americans. I mean, that’s the goal. He got involved in the Ferguson shooting. He was wrong. ... But you don’t hear him say anything about Chicago where 30 kids a day are getting shot. Why don’t you talk about that? Or the white guy who got shot by two black guys. A crime is a crime. Cops are being cops. It’s got to be the worst job in the world today. I get flustered like I would in the streets."
Caan added that the latter circumstances are "driving me to be an 'ultra-conservative.'"
When asked about Hollywood figures who urge fans to divest from Israel, Caan said "none of them have studied political science. And they stand up there and they have billions of dollars, so they can afford to be liberal."
More from the Media Line interview:
Give money to where it belongs if that’s how you feel, don’t just shoot your mouth off. I don’t take part in that. I hate when they talk about the Hollywood liberals. My best friend, Robert Duvall, and Gary Sinise, Friends of Abe (a secret society of Hollywood Conservatives ) who are conservative. As a matter of fact, the funniest thing was, when I went to a big dinner with 500 people and I thought I’d go with my buddy. We’re listening, and we sat down for dinner. And then John McCain got up and said, "I’d like to start off by thanking James Caan for risking his career by coming here tonight." That’s how silly it is.
CNN reported that multiple women have come forward and accused Freeman of sexual harassment. A woman who worked as a production assistant on one of his 2015 films said Freeman engaged in verbal sexual harassment against her as well as "unwanted touching” that included trying to lift her skirt to see if she was wearing underwear.
Freeman responded in a statement: “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent.”
