AceShowbiz -

Michael Douglas is coming forward before a potential claim about him sexually harassing a woman goes public. The Oscar-winning actor told Deadline that The Hollywood Reporter and Variety recently contacted his attorney before the holidays to say that they wanted to do a story about the allegation. Thus, he "felt the need to get ahead of this."

Douglas stated that the woman, who was his former employee 32 years ago, claimed that he used "colorful language" in front of her and accused the actor of masturbating in front of her. The woman further alleged that Douglas fired and blackballed her from getting another job.

Regarding the profanities, Douglas admitted that he did say it in front of her, but "none of it was directed at her," adding, "She may have overheard private conversations, and if she was offended, she could have excused herself." The 73-year-old actor then denied that he blackballed the woman, whom he described as "sophisticated intelligent."

Talking about the masturbation claim, he said that it "is a complete lie, fabrication, no truth to it whatsoever." He added, "I'd confess to anything I thought I was responsible for. And it was most certainly not masturbating in front of this woman. I would have respected if she had reached out to me any time over these years, to share her pain or concerns and I would have been the first one to respond."

Douglas went on saying that he was upset and offended by the accusation. "It wasn't the new year I had anticipated. I'm having a hard time understanding it. I'm fearful, I have jobs going with studios who all seem to supportive at this time," he said, before concluding, "I wonder if people realize when you do something like this, it hurts a lot more than just one person."