David Schwimmer says 'there was a lot of overreacting' in Me Too movement

‘Some of the more complex situations were lumped in with the more egregious and criminal,’ says Friends star

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David Schwimmer has said the #MeToo movement led to “a lot of overreacting” about sexual harassment.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Friends actor, said that initially when the movement emerged, his reaction was “finally!”

“Primarily I felt like: ‘Ah, finally! Yes, yes!’,” he said.

“My mom has been telling my sister and me stories since she was a young lawyer being sexually harassed by judges, clients, other lawyers.”

Schwimmer, who sits on the board of the Rape Foundation in Santa Monica, California, added that he doesn’t know a single woman in his life who hasn’t been harassed “in some way”.

Nonetheless, the 53-year-old actor told the publication that he was saddened by what he called the “atmosphere of terror” that led some people to label #MeToo a “witch hunt” against men.

“I disagree with that,” Schwimmer said, “but... there was a lot of overreacting, I think.

“Some of the more complex situations were lumped in with the more egregious and criminal.”

The actor went on to discuss the allegations of sexual assault surrounding Donald Trump that emerged prior to his ascent to the US presidency.

“I was shocked and really dismayed when it was revealed that he’s got so many women accusing him of sexual assault and that he boasts on tape of grabbing women by the genitals,” Schwimmer said with regards to a Access Hollywood tape in which Donald Trump was heard bragging about grabbing women “by the p****”.

“Most people decided that it didn’t matter,” Schwimmer added.

“I would argue to those same people that if he had done that to their daughter or their wife or their sister, it probably would matter.

"I didn’t know how to explain to my daughter how the country elected someone who was boasting of committing sexual assault.”