American film producer and films studio executive, Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company, is currently facing sexual harassment accusations by various former women employees. The investigative report published on October 5 by The New York Times, chronicles the sordid behaviour of the Hollywood producer with actresses, interns, writers, and other women who had worked under him, often asking them for sexual favours in exchange to boost their careers.
The movie mogul, according to the NYT, admitted he has issues and would be taking a leave of absence to deal with them consulting with therapists and lawyers.
Actress Ashley Judd, best known for her roles in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), Double Jeopardy (1999) and more, recounted the harassment she faced from Weinstein. Speaking to The NYT, she said:
“Mr. Weinstein soon issued invitation after invitation, she said. Could he give her a massage? When she refused, he suggested a shoulder rub. She rejected that too, she recalled. He steered her toward a closet, asking her to help pick out his clothing for the day, and then toward the bathroom. Would she watch him take a shower? she remembered him saying.
“I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,” Ms. Judd said. “It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.”
Other women employees such as one of the London assistants, Zelda Perkins, was particularly concerned about his inappropriate behaviour at the office and threatened to go public with the information. This was in 1998 and she was 25 at the time.
Laura Madden, a former employee who said Mr. Weinstein prodded her for massages at hotels in Dublin and London beginning in 1991, said he had a way of making anyone who objected feel like an outlier. “It was so manipulative,” she said in an interview. “You constantly question yourself — am I the one who is the problem?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Mr. Weinstein said.
Weinstein has produced several top Hollywood movies, including many Oscar and Tony award winning ones such as Shakespeare in Love, Gangs of New York, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Inglourious Basterds, and many more.
Hours after The NYT‘s report came out, Weinstein interview to Page Six editor Emily Smith, where he took responsibility for some of the actions written but also called it “reckless reporting”, threatening to sue the publication.
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“What I am saying is that I bear responsibility for my actions, but the reason I am suing is because of the Times’ inability to be honest with me, and their reckless reporting. They told me lies. They made assumptions. The Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didn’t live up to the bargain. The Times editors were so fearful they were going to be scooped by New York Magazine and they would lose the story, that they went ahead and posted the story filled with reckless reporting, and without checking all they had with me and my team.”
Feature Image: CNN