Rafe Spall: ‘It’s really easy to not grope people’

Rafe Spall says “it’s really easy to not grope people”.

The 39-year-old actor has hit out at those who blast the MeToo movement and said that men should take more responsibility for their actions.

He told inews.co.uk: “Since this sort of reckoning that men have had, we get those men going, ‘Oh, so am I not allowed to talk to a woman any more? Am I not allowed to chat?’

“It’s like, you know very well what you’re allowed to do, and what you’re not allowed to do. Like, it’s really easy to not grope anyone.

“I’m never in my mind going, oh, just don’t do it! Never. It’s really easy to not grope people. It’s really easy to not make women feel uncomfortable. It’s really easy.”

And Rafe says poor behaviour is “received, learned and taught” and it is important for people to actively prevent it.

He explained: “I think that’s innate and toxic masculinity is a corruption of that. That’s not inherent. That’s received, learned and taught. So I think you’ve got to go out of your way [to counteract that]. I mean, obviously, culture has done a pretty good job of making unacceptable behaviour acceptable, or de rigueur. But being decent is pretty easy.”

Spall has two sons and a daughter with his wife, former ‘Hollyoaks’ actress Elize du Toit and he admitted raising them right is “a lot of pressure”.

He said: “My sons’ idea of what a man is will be defined by me in many ways. Also, my daughter’s idea of what it is you should expect from men will in some way be influenced by me. So it’s a lot of pressure.”