An actress who worked on a sex scene with Noel Clarke says she begged him to stop asking her to look at him while he was exposed, in the latest day of evidence at Clarke’s libel claim against Guardian News and Media (GNM).
The actress – name changed to Penelope for legal reasons – told London’s High Court via videolink on Wednesday, March 19 that after filming a sex scene with Clarke, he cleared the room and in a “hushed but forceful voice” insisted that she look at his penis.
“He was saying things like, ‘it’s massive, everyone’s told me it’s big’ and that ‘you have to look, you want to look at it, look at it’,” said Penelope, as a witness for GNM. “It wasn’t even a question of whether I wanted to – he was demanding it. I felt panicked and shocked and was saying, ‘no, no, I don’t want to’.”
The actress told the court the incident felt “very sleazy” and she was “absolutely adamant that she would not look, because she knew she “wouldn’t be able to erase that image from my mind”.
She also said she begged Clarke to bring the crew back into the room, saying “’please, stop, they’ll hear you, bring them back in’.
“I felt disgusted, shocked, frightened and just retreated into myself.”
UK actor-producer-director Clarke is suing GNM over seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct.
He denies the allegations, including Penelope’s allegation around the sex scene in question. “If it is implied or suggested that Penelope’s nudity was for my sexual gratification, this is strongly denied,” said Clarke in his witness statement, adding that he “did not demand” that she look at his penis and that “at no point did I, nor could I have, dismissed the crew.”
Denim shorts
Penelope told the court that while working on the project, Clarke made comments about denim shorts she had bought for herself - with the approval of the costume department – because the ones she had been given were uncomfortable.
“I tried on the shorts at a costume-fitting and Noel came over and said, ‘yeah, you’ve replaced the other ones, I like how they look’,” said Penelope in her statement.
“He was grinning and flirtatious. He later commented on my bottom saying that I didn’t have a white arse and that it was like a black girl’s. He said something about it not being flat, implying like he thought white girls’ are. I found this embarrassing, but I laughed it off.”
Philip Williams, representing Clarke, said the incident was not true, to which Penelope replied “it is 100% true, unfortunately.”
Williams asked Penelope why she had not told anybody the details of what had happened on set.
“I didn’t tell everybody because it was a mix of shock and shame,” said the actress, adding that it was a “horrible thing to experience” and that she felt “ashamed” or as if she had “not managed it properly”.
Clarke said: “I do not not recall making a comment about Penelope’s bottom.”
While giving her evidence, Penelope said she felt “eventually [Clarke] would get found out” for his behaviour if he continued to act in that way.
“Lots and lots of people through the years have asked me about it – asked me directly how I felt working with Noel,” said the actress.
“I have always maintained that I would not speak about Noel. The line that I always used was that, ‘he would be his own undoing’.”
The hearing is due to conclude in April, with a decision in writing expected at a later date. GNM is defending its reporting as being both true and in the public interest.
No comments yet