Mayim Bialik Clarifies Her Comments on Sexual Harassment After Victim-Blaming Accusations

Mayim Bialik is speaking out after coming under fire for her New York Times op-ed, which touched on the Harvey Weinstein scandal and her experience as a young actress in Hollywood. In the original piece, which was published on Friday, the Big Bang Theory actress wrote about how she chose to dress and act conservatively to protect herself from harassment. After many accused her of victim blaming, she clarified her comments in a New York Times Facebook Live chat on Monday. "That is absolutely not what my intention was," she said of the accusations. "There is no way to avoid being the victim of assault by what you wear or the way you behave. I really do regret that this became what it became because, literally, I was trying to speak about a very specific experience I had in a very specific industry."She went on to say that she was "deeply hurt if any woman in particular who has been assaulted or any man thinks that in any way I was victim-blaming."In the inciting article, Bialik said that women should be able to act and dress however they want in a perfect world. However, she added that "our world isn't perfect" and women "can't be naive about the culture we live in."I still make choices every day as a 41-year-old actress that I think of as self-protecting and wise," Bialik wrote. "I have decided that my sexual self is best reserved for private situations with those I am most intimate with. I dress modestly. I don't act flirtatiously with men as a policy."In the Facebook Live, Bialik insisted that her takeaways from her experiences as an actress do not necessarily apply outside of the industry. "What I'm talking about specifically was the culture of Hollywood, the way that women are encouraged to present themselves and the way that men encourage women to present themselves," Bialik said. "For me, I feel protected in my industry more when I keep parts of me private than if I did not do that. That may not be true for all women."The Big Bang Theory Boss Reveals Secrets of the ProposalShe again clarified her comments on sexual harassment by adding, "I'm not saying that makes me immune to abuse or assault. I'm not saying that the way that any woman dresses holds them responsible for being assaulted because of how they dress or behave. I'm simply stating that for some women, and I know I'm not alone, for some women protecting parts yourself in terms of how we dress gives a feeling of comfort and a layer of protection, but it does not make you immune to assault."