Sir Tom Jones was sexually harassed at the start of his music career: 'What's tried on women is tried on men too'

Sir Tom Jones has opened up about his experiences with sexual harassment in the music industry, revealing that it isn’t just Hollywood that sees high-powered execs abuse their position of power.

The 77-year-old star also said that men are targeted in the same way as women, suggesting that when he first broke into the music industry he was asked to exchange sexual favours in order to advance his career.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5, Tom shared: “Things have always happened in the music industry as well.

“There’s been people complaining about publicists and different things they’ve been expected to do to get a record contract, just like a film contract.”

Asked whether he had any experience of this, Tom replied with: “Yes. At the beginning, yes.

“It wasn’t bad, just somebody tried to pull… it was a question and I said ‘No thank you.

“There were a few things like that. But you avoid it. You just walk out… But what’s tried on women is tried on men as well.”

The Voice UK coach went on to admit that his experience had left him feeling “terrible” but he then went on make sure that he didn’t ever encounter that person again.

He added: “There’s always been that element there that people with power sometimes abuse it, but they don’t all abuse it, there are good people.

“Things happen in showbusiness, and sometimes things are covered up and then they come to light and other people come forward – it’s like taking the cork off of a bottle.

“Things come out that maybe should’ve come out years ago, who knows. But justice will out. If you’ve done something wrong you’ve got to pay for it, or prove that you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Although Tom refused to name the person who targeted him in the interview, the singer’s former bass player Vernon Hopkins previously spilled the beans on an encounter between Tom and infamous music producer Joe Meek, who died in 1967.

Vernon said in a 2009 interview: “There was the time when he tried touching Tom up. That didn’t go down too well.

“I remember loading the equipment in the van outside Joe’s and Tom running down the stairs shouting: ‘He just touched my b*******! That b****** grabbed my b****!'”

Tom’s comments come after dozens of women, including high-profile actresses, came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of serious sexual assault and rape.

Weinstein, 65, has insisted that all sexual conduct has been consensual, with his spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister saying earlier this month: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein.”

Yahoo Celeb UK have contacted Tom’s reps for comment.

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