Names and faces
Harvey Weinstein apologized to
Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence after his lawyers cited them in asking a court to dismiss a sexual misconduct lawsuit. A spokesman for the movie mogul said Thursday that Weinstein has also directed his legal representatives not to use specific names of actors and former associates in the future. Lawyers for Weinstein argued in a filing, in which they quoted previous remarks made by
Streep and Lawrence, that a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by six women should be rejected. Weinstein’s attorneys cited Streep as having previously said Weinstein wasn’t inappropriate with her and cited Lawrence as having told Oprah Winfrey that Weinstein “had always been nice” to her. The actresses immediately snapped back, with Streep calling the citation of her remarks “pathetic and exploitive.” Lawrence said Weinstein’s attorneys took her previous remarks out of context and that she stands “behind all the women who have survived his terrible abuse.” The lawsuit against Weinstein claims Weinstein assaulted young women trying to break into Hollywood when they were alone with him and that his former film companies operated like an organized crime group to conceal widespread sexual harassment and assaults. Weinstein’s statement Thursday said he “acknowledges the valuable input both Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence have contributed to this conversation and apologizes.” At least 75 women have told the news media that Weinstein harassed, behaved inappropriately toward them or assaulted them. Authorities in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, New York and London are investigating.
British comedian and actor Stephen Fry revealed Friday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 60-year-old Fry said on his Twitter page that he has been fighting the disease for the past two months. He said he had surgery in January to remove the prostate. “It all seemed to go pretty well,” he said, apologizing for his inability to talk about the cancer until now. “For the last two months I’ve been in the throes of a rather unwelcome and unexpected adventure,” he said. Fry, an actor with many film and TV credits, has also been a frequent presenter and host at the British Academy film awards. He has in the past disclosed suffering from depression.