"I felt so vulnerable"— Denise Richards says she was silenced about being s*xually harassed early in her career

Actress and TV personality Denise Richards opened up about experiencing s*xual harassment as a young actress and why she chose to keep quiet about it. In an interview with People, the actress recalled her experience in Hollywood about three decades ago, saying that she chose not to talk about it at the time because she was pressured to remain silent.

Richards said that someone told her that she would be "blacklisted" in Hollywood if she filed a s*xual harassment lawsuit. She said:

"I felt so vulnerable. This was the career I wanted to do, To be told that you're never going to work in an industry you are passionate about, it's a hard thing."

The actress acknowledged the changes brought by movements like #MeToo, saying that she was glad that women in the industry nowadays have more voice and that they have something that can make them feel protected.

She also admitted that if what happened to her years ago would happen to her now, she would have handled things differently. The Bold and the Beautiful star recalled the harassment, defending her choice to keep quiet about it at the time:

"But I was so young and unknown and [just] starting out."

During her appearance in Fox's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, Denise Richards also opened up about a traumatic experience when a man tried to drag her out of the hotel lobby when she was 15.

She said that it was only because of a woman walking by that the man ran away as she couldn't move or yell at the time because her body went limp.

Thinking about her daughters, she said that she never wanted something like that to happen to them—she wanted them to "know how to fight."

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Denise Richards reflects on her daughters' strength

Denise Richards, who will be starring with her daughters and new husband, Aaron Phypers, in the reality TV show Denise Richards and Her Wild Things, reflected on her daughter's strength and confidence.

She admitted that she wished she had the same qualities as her daughters back then because she would have been able to stand up for herself. She told People:

"I look at my daughters doing our show and being such strong women. If I had that, I think I would've been able to handle it differently. I wish I had the confidence that they have because I would never be able to stand out for myself the way they do. I didn't and I'm so proud of them."

She's proud of her daughters, especially when it comes to speaking their minds. But while Denise Richards quipped about them not having a filter, she said that a lot of the time, it was "such a good thing," especially when she compared her daughters to her younger self, saying:

"I was such a people please when I started my career. And I love that my girls, this early in their career, that they're able to [speak up]."

While the Hunting Housewives star would sometimes tell her daughters to tone it down, she admitted that she was glad that they could say what was on their minds for the most part, which she wished she was able to do back then.

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Denise Richards and Her Wild Things is premiering on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, on Bravo.