Stars condemn Weinstein
MORE A-LISTERS WEIGHING IN ON SCANDAL
The Hollywood establishment, slow to react to the initial sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, began speaking out against him more forcefully Monday after the powerful studio boss was fired by his own company.
Among the A-listers weighing in were his longtime allies and beneficiaries Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and director Kevin Smith. They spoke up with a combination of disgust over his alleged behaviour and remorse and defensiveness over their own business entanglements with him.
“He financed the first 14 years of my career,” Smith, whose movies Clerks and Chasing Amy were produced by Weinstein, wrote on Twitter. “Now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed.”
Weinstein, 65, was fired Sunday by the Weinstein Co., the studio he co-founded, three days after a bombshell New York Times expose alleged decades of crude sexual behaviour on his part toward female employees and actresses, including Ashley Judd. The Times said at least eight settlements had been reached with women.
Streep, who once called Weinstein “God” while accepting the Golden Globe for The Iron Lady, condemned his alleged conduct as “inexcusable” while also saying she did not know about it before.
“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,” Streep said in a statement.
Stories of his behaviour, she said, were not universally known in Hollywood.
“Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally,” Streep continued. “If everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.”
Similarly, Dench, whose awards and nominations have been inextricably linked for two decades to Weinstein, first at his company Miramax and then at the Weinstein Co., said in a statement that she was “completely unaware” of the “horrifying” offences.
“I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out,” she wrote.
Dench won a best supporting actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love and a nomination for Philomena.
In ousting him from the company Sunday, the Weinstein board of directors, including his own brother Bob, said it was reacting to “new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days.” It did not elaborate.
A studio insider who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the Weinstein Co. plans to change its name.
Also, Weinstein’s name will be stripped from the TV series Waco and Yellowstone, among other projects.
Actress Lena Dunham tweeted Sunday night, “Easy to think Weinstein company took swift action but this has actually been the slowest action because they always always knew.”
Weinstein made his name with Miramax, the company he founded with his brother Bob in 1979. They sold it to Disney in 1993 for $60 million. The company was a fixture of the 1990s independent film movement, launching the careers of filmmakers Smith, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.
Under Weinstein’s leadership, the Weinstein Co. has been a dominant force at the Oscars. It accomplished the rare feat of winning back-to-back best picture Academy Awards with The King’s Speech and The Artist.
His other movie credits over the years include Pulp Fiction and The English Patient.
In recent years, however, Weinstein’s status has diminished because of money shortages, disappointing box-office returns and executive departures.
Since the Times article was published on Thursday, more accounts of predatory behaviour have followed.
In a HuffPost report, TV anchor Lauren Sivan detailed an alleged 2007 encounter with Weinstein. Sivan, then working at a New York cable channel, said Weinstein cornered her in the hallway of a New York City restaurant closed to the public and masturbated in front of her.
Sivan said she had rejected an attempt by Weinstein to kiss her, and he responded: “Well, can you just stand there and shut up?”
The swift fall of one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures has turned up the pressure on many in the industry to speak out.
“What Harvey Weinstein did was abhorrent. He admits he did it. Why should anyone be silent in their disgust and support for his victims?” director Judd Apatow said on Twitter.
On Thursday Weinstein issued a lengthy statement that acknowledged causing “a lot of pain.” He also asked for “a second chance.” But he and his lawyers also criticized the report in statements and interviews, and vowed an aggressive response. The New York Times said it was “confident in the accuracy of our reporting.”
WHY SHOULD ANYONE BE SILENT IN THEIR DISGUST AND SUPPORT FOR HIS VICTIMS?