Denise Richards is done staying silent.
The “Wild Things” actress, 54, revealed in a new interview with People that she was sexually harassed early in her career, and didn’t speak out at the time because “I was told I would be blacklisted.”
“I felt so vulnerable,” she recalled in the interview. “This was the career I wanted to do. To be told that you’re never going to work in an industry that you are passionate about, it’s a hard thing.”
Richards’ acting career began in the early 1990s. She got her big breaks in the films “Starship Troopers,” “Wild Things” and “The World Is Not Enough,” where she played a Bond girl.
“I am glad that women are able to have more of a voice and be more protected,” said Richards, noting the impact of the #MeToo movement that started in 2017.
“If that happened at this age, I would handle it differently, but I was so young and an unknown and [just] starting out,” she added.
After starring on two seasons of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” Richards is returning to reality TV with her own Bravo show, “Denise Richards & Her Wild Things.” The upcoming series also features her husband, Aaron Phypers, and her three daughters, Sami, 20, Lola, 19, and Eloise, 13.
“I look at my daughters doing our show and being such strong women,” Richards told People. “If I had that, I think I would’ve been able to handle it a little differently.”
She continued, “I wish I had the confidence that they have because I would never be able to stand out for myself the way they do didn’t, and I’m so proud of them. I’m so proud that they say what’s on their mind.”
The “Drop Dead Gorgeous” actress also admitted that she was “such a people pleaser” when she started in the business.
“And I love that my girls, this early in their career, that they’re able to [speak up],” the mom of three shared. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘You might want to tone it down,’ but for the most part I’m glad that they’re able to say [what’s on their mind.] I wish I was able to back then.”
Richards shares her two older daughters with her ex-husband Charlie Sheen. She adopted Eloise as a single mom in 2013.
During a recent interview on Bravo’s “Hot Mic” podcast, Richards teased a surprise appearance from Sheen, 59, in her new show.
“Nobody has ever seen Charlie and I after our divorce sitting in a room talking,” she explained. “I think that’s one of the things that I love that we were able to capture was us having that moment of sharing that.”
The former couple were married from 2002 to 2005. Richards tied the knot with Phypers, 52, in 2018.
“Denise Richards & Her Wild Things” premieres March 4 on Bravo.
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