‘How to Get Away With Murder’ Actress Karla Souza Revealed Director Raped Her, Mexican Director Denies Souza’s Accusation
How to Get Away With Murder actress Karla Souza has joined the long list of celebrities who revealed that they were sexually molested by film executive at some point in their career. Souza admitted that she was raped by a director while filming in Mexico. The actress immediately received support from fellow Hollywood stars while a Mexican director gets backlash over Souza's revelation.
As the #MeToo movement continues to spread throughout Hollywood, Souza came forward to reveal that a director raped her early in her career. She did not name the director but said he publicly humiliated and assaulted her during a month-long shoot in Mexico. In an interview with CNN en Espanol, she narrated what transpired between her and the director.
The Mexican actress said it all started when the director began to show up at her hotel room at odd hours to go over the scenes, which Souza finds inappropriate. One night, she decided not to open the door for him, but she paid a heavy price for it.
"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," Souza recounted.
Karla Souza Finally Gave In
Souza, who famously played the role of Laurel Castillo on How to Get Away with Murder, said she had no choice but to give in to what the director wants. This happened after a month of dealing with his "abuse of power." Souza said she let him touch and kiss her and eventually, rape her.
"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," the actress said while wiping away her tears.
Souza said she kept her silence about the incident because of fear that it might jeopardize her career. The actress rose to stardom after she was cast in ABC legal drama, How to Get Away With Murder. Following her revelation, co-star Viola Davis posted on Twitter a message of support for Souza.
Mexican Producer Gustavo Loza Appeal to Karla Souza
Although she did not name her attacker, the Televisa network in Mexico breaks its ties with independent producer Gustavo Loza after Souza made a rape accusation. The largest television network in the country said they will not tolerate conduct like what Souza has described. It also announced that Loza's other projects have been canceled too. Technically, Loza is not an employee of the network but he produced several series for them.
Meanwhile, Loza took on Twitter to deny all accusations against him and said Souza's accusation was not directed at him. Loza attacked Televisa's action and called on Souza to name the producer who she accused of rape. In 2010, Souza appeared as series regular in a Mexican series, Los Heroes del Norte (The Heroes of the North), which Loza produced. The show was filmed in 2010.
