NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Minnie Driver goes public with shocking assault story

BANG! Showbiz
13 Oct, 2016 08:00 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Minnie Driver arrives at the Premiere of Lifetime Television's 'Return To Zero' at Paramount Theater on the Paramount Studios lot on May 1, 2014 in Hollywood, California. Photo / Getty

Minnie Driver arrives at the Premiere of Lifetime Television's 'Return To Zero' at Paramount Theater on the Paramount Studios lot on May 1, 2014 in Hollywood, California. Photo / Getty

Minnie Driver was assaulted in a bar when she was 17.

The 46-year-old actress was on vacation in Greece when a guy "punched"
her after she refused to dance with him when he grabbed her.

She recalled: "This guy came, and he kind of elbow grabbed me and he said, 'You're going to dance with me.' And I said, 'No.'

Minnie Driver in her younger years. Photo / Getty
Minnie Driver in her younger years. Photo / Getty

"And I pulled my arm away from him and he grabbed me by the back of my hair and I tried to kick him and he punched me."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Though the man was arrested after police were called, the British star didn't feel the male officers took the situation as seriously as they should.

English actress Minnie Driver stars nightclub singer Irina in the James Bond film 'GoldenEye', 1995. Photo / Getty
English actress Minnie Driver stars nightclub singer Irina in the James Bond film 'GoldenEye', 1995. Photo / Getty

Speaking on SiriusXM's StandUP! with Pete Dominick, she added:

"They're like, 'Sure if you want to come back to Athens and press charges,' but the way they presented it was, this guy was just having a good time and if you'd gone along with it, it would have been fine.

"'If you'd just danced with him, you wouldn't be in this position that you're in now.' And I think that's the way it's framed for most young women."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Minnie Driver with her partner Neville Wakefield are spotted at the Bibury school and church fete on Saturday June 13, 2015. Photo / Getty
Minnie Driver with her partner Neville Wakefield are spotted at the Bibury school and church fete on Saturday June 13, 2015. Photo / Getty

TheGood Will Hunting star - who has seven-year-old son Henry with former boyfriend Timothy J. Lea and is dating father-of-two Neville Wakefield - believes all young women experience unwanted advances at some point and finds it frustrating that the incidents are "belittled".

Read more:
• Offensive Kim K costume pulled
• Selena Gomez 'returns to rehab'

She said: "When you're 17, 18, you're going out, the idea of unwanted male attention is something that you're supposed to put up with because it is somehow your role that a guy can come and touch you.

Minnie Driver and her son Henry Story Driver are seen on August 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Photo / Getty
Minnie Driver and her son Henry Story Driver are seen on August 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Photo / Getty

"He can put his hand way too far down the small of your back so that his hand is kind of going into your butt and that that's alright. That you can be shepherded, herded, touched, mauled.

Discover more

Entertainment

Jessica Alba sues company for $1m

12 Oct 06:30 PM
Entertainment

Rose Byrne's thorny comedy

20 Feb 06:00 PM
Entertainment

Another celeb destroys the US anthem

08 Jun 09:05 PM
Entertainment

Potter star's new movie makes a paltry $85

07 Jul 01:02 AM
Actress/singer-songwriter Minnie Driver visits SiriusXM Studios on October 13, 2014 in New York City. Photo / Getty
Actress/singer-songwriter Minnie Driver visits SiriusXM Studios on October 13, 2014 in New York City. Photo / Getty

"I think young women have been belittled when they've said something.
I remember getting called a 'prude.'"

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Premium
Entertainment

Inside Universal’s big bet on How to Train Your Dragon

21 Jun 02:00 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

'Two small boys left fatherless and their mother cast as a scarlet woman'

20 Jun 10:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Victor Rodger's play Black Faggot, was groundbreaking - how relevant is it today?

20 Jun 07:00 PM

Help for those helping hardest-hit

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Premium
Inside Universal’s big bet on How to Train Your Dragon

Inside Universal’s big bet on How to Train Your Dragon

21 Jun 02:00 AM

NY Times: Universal believes audiences will take flight with Hiccup and Toothless again.

Premium
'Two small boys left fatherless and their mother cast as a scarlet woman'

'Two small boys left fatherless and their mother cast as a scarlet woman'

20 Jun 10:00 PM
Premium
Victor Rodger's play Black Faggot, was groundbreaking - how relevant is it today?

Victor Rodger's play Black Faggot, was groundbreaking - how relevant is it today?

20 Jun 07:00 PM
Entourage star’s stand-up success and unhinged urinal encounters

Entourage star’s stand-up success and unhinged urinal encounters

20 Jun 06:00 PM
Inside Leigh Hart’s bonkers quest to hand-deliver a SnackaChangi chip to every Kiwi
sponsored

Inside Leigh Hart’s bonkers quest to hand-deliver a SnackaChangi chip to every Kiwi

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP