#MeToo: Karla Souza claims she was raped by a director

Karla Souza. Picture: Instagram

Karla Souza. Picture: Instagram

Published Feb 21, 2018

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Karla Souza has alleged she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed director in Mexico early in her career.

The 'How To Get Away with Murder' star has alleged she was attacked by a filmmaker, whose name she has not disclosed, while on a one-month shoot in Mexico in an early part of her career. 

Karla claims the director's "total abuse of power" began when he started turning up at her hotel room in the early hours of the morning. 

Speaking to CNN en Espanol, she said: "He knocked at my door saying he wanted to go over some scenes and I thought, 'It's 2 am, it's not appropriate and it's something that shouldn't be happening.' "

She claims the helmer knocked on her door again but she refused to open it and paid a price on set the next day. 

Karla explained: "The next day he decided not to shoot my scene and then he suddenly started to humiliate me in front of the others on the set. 

"This was the psychological control that he held over me."

The 32-year-old actress - who portrays Laurel Castillo in the legal drama - eventually decided to "give in" to the director after a month of harassment and alleges he "violently" attacked her. 

She added: "I ended up giving in to him [to let him] kiss me, to touch me in ways I did not want him to touch me and in one of those instances, he attacked me violently and yes, he raped me." 

Karla admitted she didn't want to speak up at the time of the alleged incident for fear it may damage her career. 

The 'Jacob's Ladder' star's claims come following the launch of the #MeToo movement, which has seen several Hollywood stars stand up against sexual harassment in the industry.

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