#MeToo? It’s mob rule!
Some actresses ‘knew price’ of using Weinstein, says Python star
MONTY Python star Terry Gilliam believes the #MeToo movement has morphed into ‘mob rule’. The animator -turned-filmmaker insisted ‘ambitious’ actresses had willingly spent time alone with Harvey Weinstein to further their careers in the past.
He admitted Weinstein ‘is a monster’ and there are still plenty of men who ‘behave like Harvey’ in the film industry.
But he said some women knew ‘the price’ of associating with the shamed mogul – with whom he has worked with in the past – and many victims ‘knew what they were doing’ by meeting him.
Calling the #MeToo reaction ‘ugly and simplistic’, he said: ‘It is a world of victims. I think some people did very well out of meeting with Harvey and others didn’t. The ones who did knew what they were doing. These are adults we are talking about, adults with a lot of ambition.
‘Harvey opened the door for a few people, a night with Harvey – that’s the price you pay.’
Gilliam, 77, added: ‘It’s like when mob rule takes over; the mob is out there, they are carrying their torches and they are going to burn down Frankenstein’s castle.’ The atmosphere around #MeToo has ‘got silly, people are being described in ridiculous terms as if there is no real humanity left any more’, he went on.
He claimed he knew women who’d spent time in hotels with the shamed producer and ‘were not victims’. He added: ‘It’s crazy how simplified things are becoming. There is no intelligence any more and people seem to be frightened to say what they really think. Now I am told even by my wife to keep my head a bit low.’
Gilliam voiced support for actor Matt Damon, who was criticised by supporters of the #MeToo campaign for pointing out there was a difference between ‘patting someone on the butt and rape’.
‘I feel sorry for someone like Matt Damon,’ said the director. ‘He came out and said all men are not rapists, and he got beaten to death. Come on, this is crazy.’ After Monty Python, the American-born star became known as a successful movie director, with films including Time Bandits, Brazil and The Fisher King.
Gilliam’s 2005 fantasy The Brothers Grimm was executiveproduced by Weinstein, and starred Damon.
Another leading role in the same film was played by British actress Lena Headey, who has described how she was sexually harassed by Weinstein at the Venice Film Festival while promoting The Brothers Grimm.
Weinstein, an Oscar-winning producer, has been holed up at a luxury rehab clinic since the allegations came to light in October 2017. Once thought to be worth €280million, the movie maker is alleged to have assaulted, harassed or raped more than 80 women across three decades. He denies all allegations. The #MeToo movement began in the wake of the claims, with dozens of A-listers, including Emma Watson and Reese Witherspoon, supporting the campaign to end sexual harassment at work. Since then, campaigners have used every opportunity to promote the cause, including turning the Golden Globes and Baftas red carpets into a sea of black dresses.
But despite the high-profile campaign, Gilliam said he didn’t believe anything would change.
He said: ‘I don’t think Hollywood will change, power always takes advantage, it always does and always has.
‘It’s how you deal with power – people have got to take responsibility for their own selves. Human beings are physical creatures. There is touching and there is grabbing, that is the problem.’
A father of three, Gilliam has been married to make-up artist Maggie Weston for 45 years.
‘People did well out of meeting Harvey’ ‘Power always takes advantage’