In an interview with Men’s Health, Arnold Schwarzenegger says he “stepped over the line several times” with women.
The actor and former Republican governor of California says he was the “first one to say sorry.” Schwarzenegger says he feels bad about it and apologise.
“Looking back, I stepped over the line several times, and I was the first one to say sorry. I feel bad about it, and I apologize. When I became governor, I wanted to make sure that no one, including me, ever makes this mistake. That’s why we took sexual harassment courses, to have a clear understanding, from a legal point of view and also from a regular-behaviour point of view, of what is accepted and what is not,” he said.
Schwarzenegger was accused of sexual misconduct when he ran for governor in 2003 and he denied the allegations. He says that’s why there were sexual harassment courses when he became governor to make sure no one, including himself, made that mistake.
He says calling political opponents “girlie men” was shortsighted even though he improvised it at the time.
“At the time it felt like the right thing to do. It was in my gut. I improvised it. I called them girlie men because they weren’t willing to take risks. They were afraid of everything. Politicians, in general, want to do little things so there’s no risk involved. But it was shortsighted. In the long term, it’s better to not say that, because you want to work with them,” added the actor.
He says he has not changed his views of masculinity. He says his mother was the woman he was originally most in love with.
“I’ve not changed my view. I’m a guy. I would not change my view of who I am. The woman I was originally most in love with was my mother. I respected her, and she was a fantastic woman. I always had respect for women,” Schwarzenegger said.
