Actor Morgan Freeman on Thursday issued an apology after CNN reported that multiple women had accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour on movie sets and in other professional settings, AP reported.

“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy,” the 80-year-old actor said in a statement. “I apologise to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected – that was never my intent.”

CNN spoke to 16 people about alleged inappropriate behaviour by Freeman. Eight of them said they had been harassed while the others said they had witnessed such conduct at movie sets, promotional events and the office of Freeman’s production company Revelations Entertainment.

An unidentified production assistant said Freeman touched her inappropriately and made unnecessary comments about her body and clothing in 2015 on the sets of Going in Style. In another incident, a senior member of the production staff of the 2012 movie Now You See Me alleged that Freeman sexually harassed her and a female assistant by commenting on their bodies.

Freeman is the latest Hollywood actor to be accused of sexual misconduct after the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements began around October. The movements, which seek to expose sexual harassment and assault, especially at workplace, gathered momentum after Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment by nearly 70 women, including actors Ashley Judd, Rose Mc Gowan, Asia Argento and Angelina Jolie. Actors and directors such as Dustin Hoffman, Brett Ratner, Geoffrey Rush, Ryan Seacrest and Kevin Spacey have also been accused of sexual harassment.