Natalie Portman Speaks Out About Being Sexualized At Age 12 After ‘The Professional’

Natalie Portman Speaks Out About Being Sexualized At Age 12 After 'The Professional'

At the 2018 Women's March in Los Angeles, Natalie Portman
gave a powerful speech about a dark time in her past.

The 36-year-old actress took to the stage on Saturday and
revealed how she was sexualized as a preteen after the debut of her first film,
"The Professional."

In the film, Natalie portrayed 12-year-old Mathilda, a girl
who befriends an Italian hitman with the hopes of avenging the murder of her
family.

"The character is simultaneously discovering and
developing her womanhood, her voice and her desire. At that moment in my life,
I too was discovering my own womanhood, my own desire and my own voice,"
Natalie shared.

The Oscar winner said she was "so excited" when
the film was released in 1994, but her experience quickly turned negative.

"I excitedly opened my first fan mail to read a rape
fantasy that a man had written me," Natalie recounted. "A countdown
was started on my local radio show to my 18th birthday,
euphemistically the date that I would be legal to sleep with. Movie reviewers
talked about my budding breasts in reviews."

"I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that
if I were to express myself sexually, I would feel unsafe and that men would
feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort."

Natalie said that she quickly changed her behavior,
rejecting any role with a kissing scenes.

"I emphasized how bookish I was and how serious I was,
and I cultivated an elegant way of dressing. I built a reputation for basically
being prudish, conservative, nerdy, serious, in an attempt to feel that my body
was safe and that my voice would be listened to," she said.

"At 13 years old, the message from our culture was
clear to me. I felt the need to cover my body and to inhibit my expression and
my work in order to send my own message to the world: that I'm someone worthy
of safety and respect."

As Natalie spoke, fellow actresses and Time's Up advocates
Eva Longoria Baston and Constance Wu stood behind her in support.

The star later shared a snippet of her speech on her
Instagram page, where she told the crowd that they all were responsible for the
birth of this movement.

"You told the world that time's up on violence. You
told the world that time's up on silence," she said.

Natalie also posted a shot of her donning a Time's Up shirt
and a blue "Make America Gay Again" hat at the march.