Update (Feb. 23, 9:38 a.m.): The H.F.P.A. has released a statement addressing Fraser, claiming his remarks to GQ include allegations they were “previously unaware of” and are currently investigating:

“The HFPA stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behavior described in this article. Over the years we’ve continued a positive working relationship with Brendan, which includes announcing Golden Globe nominees, attending the ceremony and participating in press conferences. This report includes alleged information that the HFPA was previously unaware of and at this time we are investigating further details surrounding the incident.”

The original post continues below:

Throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s, Brendan Fraser was ubiquitous. He had franchise hits like The Mummy, as well as critical successes like The Quiet American and Crash. But as the aughts wore on, Fraser’s output began to dwindle, leaving viewers to wonder what became of him. In an in-depth interview with GQ published Thursday, Fraser said that one of the reasons he pulled away from Hollywood was because of an alleged incident in 2003 in which, he alleged, former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, Philip Berk, groped him.

“I became depressed,” he said, explaining his retreat from the entertainment industry. “I was blaming myself and I was miserable.”

The alleged incident took place at an H.F.P.A. luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Fraser said that when he was leaving the crowded room, Berk came to shake his hand goodbye. This, Fraser said, is when Berk assaulted him. “His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint,” Fraser claims. “And he starts moving it around.”

“I felt ill,” he continued. “I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry.” Fraser said he rushed out of the room and told Afton, his wife at the time, what had happened. In a statement to GQ, Berk, who is still an H.F.P.A. member, denied the allegations. “Mr. Fraser’s version is a total fabrication,” he said.

Fraser said he considered taking the allegations public, but ultimately changed his mind: “I didn’t want to contend with how that made me feel, or it becoming part of my narrative.” Instead, his representatives asked the H.F.P.A. for a written apology. Berk told GQ that he did write to the actor, but “my apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual ‘If I’ve done anything that upset Mr. Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize.’”

Fraser said the alleged incident took a toll and led him to feel reclusive. The H.F.P.A. rarely invited him to the Golden Globes after 2003. “I don’t know if this curried disfavor with the group, with the H.F.P.A. But the silence was deafening,” he said. Berk denied this, telling GQ that the H.F.P.A. did not blacklist the actor. “His [Fraser’s] career declined through no fault of ours.”

Fraser said the alleged incident affected his sense of self and his career. However, he has been watching as the #MeToo movement swept Hollywood, and applauded women like Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd, and Mira Sorvino for speaking out. “I’ve worked with them,” he said. “I call them friends in my mind. I haven’t spoken to them in years, but they’re my friends. I watched this wonderful movement, these people with the courage to say what I didn’t have the courage to say.”

At this year’s Golden Globes, much of the crowd wore black in solidarity with the movement, and many stars wore Time’s Up pins to support the anti-sexual harassment initiative. Fraser watched the ceremony on TV, but said he was troubled when he saw Berk in the crowd.

“Am I still frightened? Absolutely,” he said. “Do I feel like I need to say something? Absolutely. Have I wanted to many, many times? Absolutely. Have I stopped myself? Absolutely. And maybe I am over-reacting in terms of what the instance was. I just know what my truth is.”