Helen Mirren praises #MeToo, young women for 'taking control'

Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren has praised the #MeToo generation of young women for taking control of their destiny and refusing to accept inequality.

The #MeToo movement began in 2017 in the United States as a response to accusations of sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood and emboldened women around the world to recount their experiences of being verbally abused, groped, molested or raped. "Why did #MeToo happen? Something cracked," said Mirren said in an interview with the Radio Times, a British magazine, published on Tuesday.

"Something went, and I absolutely love that a young generation of women just won't accept it." Mirren, 74, won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2007 for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen" and has received several accolades during a career spanning five decades.

"I see young women around me taking control of their own destiny. Writing their own material, creating their own theatre groups or making their own movies, that lovely assumption that it's possible, and that they can do it," she said. Questions of gender self-identification have also split public opinion around the world.

Studies suggest that a growing number of people identify as trans or non-binary, with many young people stating their "preferred pronouns" on social media - with some opting for the gender-neutral "they/them". Mirren said she doesn't believe there is such thing as "binary sexuality".

"We're all somewhere in the middle in a wonderful mix of male and female," she added.

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