Jilly Cooper recounts ‘terrifying’ attempted rape by a fellow author

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Speaking to interviewer Celia Walden, Cooper, 87, noted that “it is seriously awful for women – terrifying – to be jumped on by a man”. After taking a breath, she continued: “When I got back to the office I was in floods of tears and told my manager that someone had just tried to rape me.” Cooper then noted that her manager tried to soothe her with a cup of tea while insisting that she reveal the offender’s identity so that they could report it to authorities. Though it was established by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, the movement went viral in 2017 after several women accused disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and rape. Previously, Cooper has claimed that MeToo “diminished” men, and in the Telegraph interview, published on Saturday, spoke of her fear “that these days, if you put a hand on a woman’s shoulder, you’re about to rape her.” She continued: “But what I find the saddest thing of all, is that now some gentle pass you made 30 years ago could come back at you, and then your career will go, your marriage will go: everything will go.”