BECKINSALE TELLS OF WEINSTEIN INCIDENT WHEN SHE WAS JUST 17
BRITISH star Kate Beckinsale has become the latest woman to speak out against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, describing how she was just 17 when he appeared at a meeting in a bathrobe and offered her alcohol.
The actress said it did not cross her mind at the time that he had any sexual expectations of her.
Her revelation yesterday came as New York police opened an investigation into Weinstein, and Merseyside Police said they had referred claims of a sexual assault in the London area involving the producer from the 1980s to Scotland Yard.
In a post on Instagram, Ms Beckinsale wrote: “I was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel when I was 17. I assumed it would be in a conference room, which was very common. When I arrived, Reception told me to go to his room. He opened the door in his bathrobe.
“I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him. After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left, uneasy but unscathed.
“A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting. I realised he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not. I had what I thought were boundaries – I said no to him professionally many times over the years; some of which ended up with him screaming at me, and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people, ‘oh, Kate lives to say no to me’.
“It speaks to the status quo in this business that I was aware that standing up for myself and saying no to things, while it did allow me to feel uncompromised in myself, undoubtedly harmed my career and was never something I felt supported by anyone other than my family.”
She continued: “I would like to applaud the women who have come forward, and to pledge that we can from this create a new paradigm where producers, managers, executives and assistants and everyone who has in the past shrugged and said, ‘Well, that’s just Harvey /Mr X/ insert name here’ will realise that we in numbers can effect real change.
“For every moment like this there have been thousands where a vulnerable person has confided outrageous unprofessional behaviour and found they have no recourse, due to an atmosphere of fear that it seems almost everyone has been living in.”
Ms Beckinsale, the former wife of Port Talbot-raised film star Michael Sheen, added that she told a male friend about her experience, who then warned a young actress who was going to dinner with Weinstein to be careful of him.
She said: “He received a phone call the next day saying he would never work in another Miramax film; the girl was already sleeping with Harvey and had told him that my friend had warned her off.
“Let’s stop allowing our young women to be sexual cannon fodder, and let’s remember that Harvey is an emblem of a system that is sick, and that we have work to do.”
Earlier, Weinstein had told reporters “I’m not doing OK” but “we all make mistakes” as he was filmed on camera for the first time since the scandal broke.
Weinstein was filmed, dressed in a black T-shirt and scruffy jeans, while thought to be leaving his daughter’s house in Los Angeles.
Asked how he was, the producer told celebrity news website TMZ: “I’m trying my best. I’m not doing OK but I’m trying.”
The incident follows a string of sexual harassment allegations from women who worked with him. Model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne was among the stars to speak out.
Weinstein told TMZ: “I gotta get help. You know what, we all make mistakes. A second chance, I hope.”
And he added: “I’ve always been loyal to you guys.”
The producer, who is thought to be on his way to a rehab facility and whose wife has announced she is leaving him, was then driven away.
The comments came after officers were called after a “family dispute” at the home of Weinstein’s daughter.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed they were called to reports of a “disturbance” at the house but said no crime had been committed. Weinstein was not there when officers arrived.
An LAPD spokesman said: “At 10.37am Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to the 500 block of North Kilkea Drive at the house of Harvey Weinstein’s daughter and were there for a disturbance call.
“Officers arrived and conducted an investigation. It was revealed that there was no crime and it was a family dispute. Officers then left the scene.”
Meanwhile, Ms Delevingne claimed Weinstein made advances towards her in a hotel room after asking her to kiss another woman.
In a statement posted on Instagram, she said she was left feeling “very powerless and scared” when he invited her to his hotel room.
“I was so hesitant about speaking out. I didn’t want to hurt his family. I felt guilty, as if I did something wrong,” she said.
“I was also terrified that this sort of thing had happened to so many women I know, but no-one had said anything because of fear.”
Spectre actress Lea Seydoux also joined Weinstein’s accusers, saying she had to defend herself after the director allegedly jumped on her and tried to kiss her.
The French actress, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Blue Is The Warmest Colour, said the movie mogul stared at her “as if I was a piece of meat”.
Writing in the Guardian, she said: “We were talking on the sofa when he suddenly jumped on me and tried to kiss me. I had to defend myself. He’s big and fat, so I had to be forceful to resist him. I left his room, thoroughly disgusted.
“I wasn’t afraid of him, though. Because I knew what kind of man he was all along.”
On Tuesday Weinstein was accused of rape by three women – claims Weinstein “unequivocally denies” – and his British wife, Georgina Chapman, announced she was leaving him.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, described the allegations against Weinstein as “repugnant” and “abhorrent” and said it would meet to discuss any action to be taken. Bafta also announced it had suspended his membership.
The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that the reports were “deeply concerning” as senior politicians called for Weinstein to be stripped of his CBE.
Regarding its investigation into Weinstein, Detective Sophia Mason, of the NYPD, told the Press Association: “Based on information referenced in published news reports the NYPD is conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints relating to the Harvey Weinstein matter.
“No filed complaints have been identified as of this time.”
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “We can confirm the Met was passed an allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police on Wednesday, 11 October.
“The allegation will be assessed by officers from Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command.”