Molly Ringwald says ‘predators’ took ‘advantage of’ her as young actress in Hollywood

Movies

By Eileen Reslen

Like many young starlets, Molly Ringwald was preyed upon as she was coming up in Hollywood.

The “Breakfast Club” star, now 56, shared on the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast Monday that she was shy when she was younger, and so she didn’t go out clubbing much or insert herself into the celeb scene.

“Well, you’re lucky you didn’t get taken advantage of or got into some sort of horrible situation,” host Marc Maron said in response, which prompted Ringwald to rebut, “Oh, I was taken advantage of.”

“You can’t be a young actress in Hollywood and … not have predators around,” the “Sixteen Candles” star explained. “But I wasn’t raped by Harvey Weinstein, so, I’m grateful for that.”

Ringwald did not give further details about who allegedly took advantage of her and what exactly occurred, but she has spoken out about her experiences in the past.

The “Pretty in Pink” star wrote an essay for the New Yorker in 2016, which she told Maron, 60, was meant to show that Weinstein, 72, was “not the only one.”

In the article titled “All the Other Harvey Weinsteins,” Ringwald penned, “When I was thirteen, a fifty-year-old crew member told me that he would teach me to dance, and then proceeded to push against me with an erection.”

She continued, “When I was fourteen, a married film director stuck his tongue in my mouth on set.”

Ringwald wrote that at a time when she was still coming to terms with her own sexuality, “at every turn some older guy tried to help speed up the process.”

“And all this went on despite my having very protective parents who did their best to shield me,” she added. “I shudder to think of what would have happened had I not had them.”

The Brat Pack member told Maron that her daughter Mathilda Ereni Gianopoulos is now trying to break into the entertainment industry despite her trying to convince the 20-year-old not to, noting, “It’s hard.”

Ringwald explained that in spite of what she went through, she figured out a way to “protect” herself as a young woman.

“I was definitely in questionable situations,” she admitted, “but I do have an incredible survival instinct, and a pretty big super-ego and kind of managed to sort of figure out a way to protect myself.”

The actress recognized, however, “It can be harrowing.”