Earlier this month, Lana Wood, sister to late Hollywood starlet Natalie Wood, shocked the world when she claimed that Kirk Douglas, who died last year at the age of 103, sexually assaulted her sister decades ago. Now, Lana is opening up to reveal why she decided to come forward with these claims now.
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Sister Of Natalie Wood Explains Claim Against Kirk Douglas
Lana told Fox News that while it was “hard” to come forward with the allegations, she felt empowered to do so by the #MeToo movement.
“That’s a terrible thing to have the courage to come out with,” explained Lana, who is a former Bond girl. “It was really uncomfortable. And I’ve never said anything about it until now. But with the #MeToo movement, I felt that women are getting the strength. They’re finding the strength to say something. But, you’ve got to understand why it wasn’t easy to say anything before. Whenever anybody came forward with a story about anybody, the first question that they’re asked is ‘why did you wait so long?’ Why are you saying something now?’”
“It’s a horrible thing to admit to,” she continued. “It’s terrible. It’s not anything I’ve ever wanted to admit, but there were so many rumors and untruths about my sister. I would get messages from [reporters] saying, ‘Can’t you tell us who it was?’ I always said no. But I wanted to have my sister’s back… No one was taking care of her with the truth. And I know she would have done the same for me. She was very protective of her family. I wanted to fight for her name.”
Related: Katie Couric Defends Matt Lauer As A ‘Decent’ Man Despite Sexual Misconduct Scandal
What Lana Claims Happened Between Natalie Wood And Kirk Douglas
In her new book “Little Sister,” Lana claims that the alleged assault took place in 1955, around the time Natalie was filming The Searchers.
Notably, The Searchers was an epic Western that starred John Wayne and cast Natalie Wood as The Duke’s abducted niece.
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Natalie was still a teenager at the time. However, Douglas was an established star in his 30s who had just launched his own production company, Bryna Productions.
Lana says their mother set up a meeting between Douglas and her daughter that she thought would open doors for the budding actress.
“I remember that Natalie looked especially beautiful when Mom and I dropped her off that night at the Chateau Marmont entrance,” Lana wrote.
She added that “it seemed like a long time passed” before Natalie eventually got back into the car and when she did, the actress “looked terrible.”
“She looked panic-stricken,” Lana claimed. “I woke up [from taking a nap] and looked at her. She just looked awful. And our mother was whispering to her. I was eight years old or so at the time, so I didn’t really understand what exactly happened. But she just stayed away from most [people] for a while. I think it carried on throughout her life because of the different reactions that she had and the different choices she made. I just knew something truly horrible happened to her.”
Related: Family Pays Tribute As Hollywood Icon Kirk Douglas Passes Away At 103 Years-Old
‘He Hurt Me, Lana’
Lana claimed that their mother feared that Natalie’s career would be over if they told anyone what had happened.
“She told her not to tell anybody because they wouldn’t believe it,” Lana said of their mother. “This was a big star. He could destroy her career. She was told not to put herself in that situation and just forget it. Was my mother angry? No. She was more interested in retaining stardom.”
Later, Natalie Wood would confide in her sister about being brought to Kirk Douglas’ suite.
“He hurt me, Lana,” she remembered Natalie saying. “It was like an out-of-body experience. I was terrified. I was confused.”
“You could tell how much it affected her,” Lana added. “It changed the way she looked at men.”
Kirk’s son Michael Douglas responded to the claims by only saying, “May they both rest in peace.”
Natalie died in 1981 at the age of 43 in a drowning. Lana made it clear in her new interview that she has absolutely no regrets about going public with this.
“I’m backing up Natalie,” Lana said emphatically. “I’m sorry that this is shocking or upsetting to some people. But I’m taking care of Natalie.”
This will certainly change the way many fans look at the late Kirk Douglas.
You may think you know Kirk Douglas – but did you know he didn’t see eye to eye with John Wayne? While most of the industry called him Duke, Douglas referred to him as John. Learn more about the interesting dynamics between these two leading men in this interview from 1971.
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