Jamie Lee Curtis Says That #MeToo Would Have "Really Upset" Her Mother Janet Leigh

    "It's not fair to unpack that."

    Larry Fitzmaurice
    by Larry Fitzmaurice

    BuzzFeed Staff

    You know Jamie Lee Curtis.

    Jamie Lee Curtis smiles for the camera while wearing earrings and a black dress with a white neck design
    David Livingston / Getty Images for Fashion Media

    And you probably know that her mother was late actor Janet Leigh, who iconically starred in Alfred Hitchcock's classic suspense film Psycho.

    Janet Leigh looks behind her back while screaming in a promotional image for Psycho
    Courtesy Everett Collection

    While talking to fellow actor Melanie Griffith for Interview, Curtis pointed out that Leigh was friends with Griffith's mother, actor Tippi Hedren, who also worked with Hitchcock. Griffith then pointed out that the director "apparently was not very good with my mom."

    Curtis holds a microphone while looking out into the crowd
    Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

    In 2016, Hedren alleged that Hitchcock sexually assaulted her. “I’ve never gone into detail on this, and I never will,” she wrote in her memoir Tippi from that year. “I’ll simply say that he suddenly grabbed me and put his hands on me. It was sexual, it was perverse, and it was ugly, and I couldn’t have been more shocked and repulsed."

    "I don’t think Janet would have ever acknowledged if there was any bad behavior," Curtis replied. "She was, it’s a bad term, but kind of Pollyanna-ish about the industry."

    Curtis puts her hand on her hip while wearing a leopard print red dress at a red carpet event
    Marilla Sicilia / Archivio Marilla Sicilia / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

    "I think the #MeToo movement would have really upset her. It’s not fair to unpack that, because she’s dead and I’m going to put words in her mouth, but knowing her, I think she would not say that he misbehaved in any way."

    Curtis wears a two-tone dress shirt and sunglasses at a festival
    Mondadori Portfolio / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

    This isn't the first time Curtis has mentioned her mother recently. For the costume party premiere of Halloween Kills, she donned Leigh's iconic Psycho look as her own costume.

    Curtis dressed as Leigh while carrying a bloody sheet in front of a Halloween Kills poster
    Rich Fury / FilmMagic

    "Honoring my mother in ALL her gory...I meant glory!" Jamie wrote in an Instagram caption highlighting the costume.

    If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search your local center here.