Sheryl Lee Ralph says that she was sexually assaulted by a “famous TV judge” years ago at a business event and that network executives witnessed what happened but remained silent to avoid “bad press.”

“I’m at a very public place. I was suited. I had my suit on. I was handling my business for the television show I was on at that time. He and I were on the same network,” the actor told Angela Yee on her radio show Way Up with Angela Yee. “This man walked in, grabbed me by the back of my neck, turned me around and rammed his nasty ass tongue down my throat and everybody at the network saw it.”

Ralph didn’t name the man who allegedly assaulted her and did not reveal the network or show she was working with at the time. She did make it known, however, that Judge Greg Mathis was not the alleged TV star in question, noting that “he’s a great man.”

“Not him at all. He’s a great man. This was another one,” Ralph said.

Ralph also noted that she’s telling her truth in hopes of encouraging other women and actors to stand up for themselves. “Speak up, tell your truth, do not carry the burden of the pain … especially if you feel like it’s something you can’t work through,” she said.

Ralph notes she was prepared to report the incident and called former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial. She says the mayor immediately came to her defense and asked, “You want me to send the police there right now? ‘Cause we will fix this, you know what!” But the actor notes the network asked her to stay silent.

“Somebody on the network tapped me on the shoulder saying, ‘Please don’t,'” Ralph shared. “They did not want any bad press around their show, and did not care what had just happened to me.”

“They saw what happened,” Ralph added. “That’s the kind of stuff that happens. That’s what makes it hard for women to speak up about these things.”

Watch the full interview segment below.