‘I knew about producer’s shocking behaviour – and I wish I’d done something,’ admits Tarantino

DIRECTOR Quentin Tarantino has said he knew about Harvey Weinstein’s behaviour towards women for decades and feels ashamed that he did not do more to stop it.

The acclaimed figure, who has worked with disgraced Weinstein on all of his films, said he wished he had “taken responsibility” after hearing several credible stories from prominent actresses about the producer’s misconduct.

“I knew enough to do more than I did,” he told ‘The New York Times’.

“There was more to it than just the normal rumours, the normal gossip. It wasn’t second-hand. I knew he did a couple of these things. I wish I had taken responsibility for what I heard.

“If I had done the work I should have done then, I would have had to not work with him.”

Tarantino, the director of films such as ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’, said his former girlfriend, Mira Sorvino, had told him that Weinstein had harassed her and touched her inappropriately.

“What I did was marginalise the incidents,” he said.

“Anything I say now will sound like a crappy excuse.”

He said that Weinstein had “horribly crossed the line” with Sorvino and that he was “shocked and appalled” by his behaviour. Tarantino then heard several other accounts of harassment and assault from other actresses. Tarantino said that Hollywood needed to take the situation more seriously because the industry had been operating under a system that “males have almost tolerated”. Tarantino’s comments came as Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o (inset) joined the growing list of stars to accuse Weinstein of harassment. Nyong’o, who won best supporting actress for ‘12 Years A Slave’, said she was a drama school student when the “predator” lured her to his room under false pretences.

She wrote in ‘The New York Times’ that she was invited to his family home in Connecticut on the premise of watching a film in 2011. The KenyanMexican actress (34) said she felt pressured into giving him a massage after he offered her one.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles police have said they were investigating a possible sexual assault case against Weinstein – the first involving the producer in the city. Police in New York and London are also investigating complaints. Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment or abuse by more than three dozen women. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.