Van Barnes, former assistant of “Transparent” star Jeffrey Tambor, appeared on Wednesday’s edition of NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” to detail the sexual harassment allegations she has leveled against the actor.
Barnes expanded on previous statements regarding Tambor’s alleged inappropriate behavior. She maintains Tambor subjected her to unwanted physical contact and lewd remarks. Tambor has denied the allegations, which surfaced in November amid the rise of the #MeToo movement. Last month the veteran actor was fired from the Amazon comedy series after four seasons and back-to-back lead comedy actor Emmy wins in 2015 and 2016.
“Continually, I was always harassed,” Barnes told Kelly. “It ran the gamut of sexual harassment, physical harassment, and verbal abuse, constantly. This all really falls under the problem Hollywood has right now with this abuse of power and misogyny.”
Over their two years working together, Barnes said Tambor made repeated improper comments toward her, asking her, “Why haven’t we slept together?” and telling her he once watched her while she was naked and asleep. Barnes, who is a transgender woman, said she was drawn to the show because of its groundbreaking portrayal of a transgender character, Moira Pfefferman, who comes out late in life to her extended family.
Popular on Variety
“I would always deflect these comments because, I might be white and blonde, but I’m actually a minority female because I’m transgender,” Barnes told Kelly. “And so, breaking into the industry, it takes a lot of oomph. Not everyone is really open to having a transgender person working for them.”
Kelly asked Barnes whether she was satisfied with his exit from the show.
“Him being fired is just in a male-driven Hollywood, and he brought this on himself, but they haven’t completed the whole process of helping me stand back on my feet,” Barnes said.
Read More About:
Jump to CommentsMore from Variety
Mattel Exec on Rebooting Barney for Daniel Kaluuya’s Movie and a Max Animated Series — and Is the ‘American Girl’ Doll Movie the Next ‘Barbie’?
‘Terrifier 3’ Mutilating ‘Joker 2’ at Box Office Is Good for Warner Bros.
‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Identity of Bluebell: Here Is the Celebrity Under the Costume
Laverne Cox on Possibly Leaving U.S. After Trump Win, Hoarding Estrogen and Being ‘So Scared’ for Trans Youth
Generative AI in TV: VIP+ at Mipcom Cannes Recap
‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Identity of Chess Piece: Here Is the Celebrity Under the Costume
Most Popular
Anna Kendrick Was Terrified to Act With George Clooney on ‘Up in the Air’ Until He Told Her on Set: ‘I Get Insecure. Did They Even Hire the Right…
Grammy Nominations 2025: Beyonce Leads With 11 Nods as Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX Are Among Top Nominees
Ray Romano’s Identical Twin Sons Confront Their Quarter-Life Crisis, Codependency and Growing Up With a Famous Dad in Their New Documentary
Ridley Scott Says Joaquin Phoenix Got Cold Feet on ‘Gladiator’ and Said ‘I Can’t Do It’; Then Russell Crowe Called It ‘Terribly Unprofessional…
Tony Todd, ‘Candyman’ and ‘Final Destination’ Star, Dies at 69
Jimmy Kimmel Responds to Elon Musk Calling Him a ‘Propaganda Puppet’: ‘Listen Kermit, You Bought Twitter’
16-Year-Old Josh Brolin Tried to Make His ‘Goonies’ Character Super Deep; Then Steven Spielberg Told Him: ‘Just Act. Just Say What’s on the Page…
Denis Villeneuve Says ‘I Don’t Care’ If Quentin Tarantino Refuses to Watch ‘Dune,’ but ‘What I Did Was Not a Remake … I See This as an Original…
‘Joker 2’ Actor Says It’s ‘the Worst Film Ever Made’ and People on Set Said ‘This Is Going to Bomb’: ‘It’s Not Even Hate-Watchable. That’s How…
Nicholas Hoult Heard on the Radio That Robert Pattinson Was Batman and ‘I Was Auditioning Next Weekend’; Losing Role Was an ‘Emotional Blow…
Must Read
- Film
COVER | ‘Is the Sperm Still in There?’: Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey on Making ‘Queer’
By Andrew Wallenstein 5 days
- Film
The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time
- Biz
Hollywood's New Leaders of 2024
- Music
15 Best Samples of Quincy Jones' Music, From Kanye West to the Weeknd to Harry Styles
- TV
Marvel's 2025 TV Slate Revealed, Including First Looks at ‘Wonder Man,’ Animated 'Spider-Man' and 'Wakanda' Shows
Sign Up for Variety Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Variety Confidential
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXKEjq2taKaVrMBwtsSfnaudqWLBornBqKlmmZOYwrSx0WatmqZdl66zusSsZKydqKqurXnHmqmaq6Oisq%2FAjKacoLGeYrimuMuyZGpqYGeEc3yXb2to