Actor Dean Cain just revealed that he was sexually harassed on the set of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The 58-year-old actor gave a tell-all interview with Variety this week, with a heavy focus on his time playing Clark Kent. He confirmed publicly for the first time that he suffered some kind of sexual harassment while playing the iconic role, but he declined to give any further details. Variety‘s Tatiana Siegel indicated this was a longstanding rumor in Hollywood, and that it may have even had something to do with the show’s abrupt ending. Cain declined to name the person or people who harassed him, but said that it did impact his personal relationships at the time.
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“I could have had the biggest sexual harassment lawsuit in Hollywood history,” Cain said. Beyond that, the actor did not say anything directly about the harassment, though it reportedly contributed to his breakup with pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece at the time. Cain then went on to discuss his next relationship with Playboy model Samantha Torres, which didn’t last, either. However, the actor had one other, more general remark to make on sexual misconduct and “reparations.”
Cain was 26 years old when he took the role as Superman, and he was fresh off of an attempt at a career as a professional football player. Siegel noted that he was openly objectified by the press and by fans, especially as he spent so much time on TV in a skintight suit, suspended from wires, and practically on display in simulated flight. Cain assured the interviewer that none of this bothered him.
“Any guy who tells you he feels bad being objectified, I mean, really? Come on,” he said. “It’s a wonderful compliment.”
Still, Cain said that the hours were long and the work was often painful. In hindsight, he wishes he’d bargained for more money and perhaps more perks in his contract, but he didn’t begrudge the nature of the work itself. Elsewhere in the interview, he made another comment about a painful topic — his Japanese-American ancestry. He said, “My family was interred in the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. That was a horrible injustice, but I don’t think that I deserve any sort of reparations.”
Cain’s remarks inevitably reflected his politics, which he is very outspoken about. The actor declined to share more about his own experience of sexual harassment, but commented readily on other high-profile cases like Harvey Weinstein and President Donald Trump. Cain makes frequent appearances on talk shows, so it seems likely he will face more questions about his personal disclosure in the weeks ahead.
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