Los Angeles, Jan 15 (IANS): American actress Jamie Lee Curtis has slammed "terrible abusers" in the wake of Eliza Dushku's claim that she was molested while filming "True Lies".

Dushku had claimed she was assaulted by the 1994 movie's stunt co-ordinator Joel Kramer when she was just 12 years old. Now Curtis, who starred as Dushku's on-screen mother, has revealed she was "shocked and saddened" by her alleged ordeal, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"She had shared that story with me privately a few years ago. I was shocked and saddened then and still am today. We have all started to awaken to the fact that the terrible abuses now commonplace in daily news reports have been going on for a very long time.

"Unconscionably, those reports frequently come along with claims by the perpetrators that, as adults, those perpetrated against had some part in it ... Eliza's story has now awakened us from our denial slumber to a new, horrific reality. The abuse of children," said Curtis.

Curtis, 59, described Kramer's alleged actions as "terrible", and called for the truth to be discovered so that Hollywood could continue to push for change.

In an open letter on her social media account, Dushku claimed she was "groomed" by the stunt expert for months before going to his hotel room, where he "rubbed" his near-naked body against her.

She also alleged she was left with broken ribs after a stunt went wrong, shortly after a "strong adult" friend confronted Kramer about her allegations. But the stunt co-ordinator has said her claims are not true.