Renee Zellweger denies giving ‘sexual favours’ to Weinstein
Renee Zellweger is pushing back against a claim that she traded sexual favours to Harvey Weinstein in exchange for more work.
“If Harvey said that, he’s full of s — t,” a rep for the actress said in a statement.
On Wednesday, six women sued Weinstein, claiming that Miramax, The Weinstein Company and its board conspired with the producer to “perpetuate and conceal widespread sexual harassment and assault.”
In the lawsuit, Melissa Sagemiller, one of the plaintiffs, claimed that Weinstein tried to persuade her to have sex in the summer of 2000, promising he would help her career.
Weinstein allegedly claimed other actresses, including Zellweger and Charlize Theron had made similar arrangements.
Zellweger worked on multiple films with Weinstein, including “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” “Chicago,” “Cold Mountain” and “Miss Potter.” Theron has not yet commented on the allegations, but said in October she wasn’t surprised as more women accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
“The women who have spoken about their abuse are brave and heroic and although I didn’t have a personal experience like this with Harvey Weinstein, I unfortunately cannot say I’m surprised. This culture has always existed, not just in Hollywood, but across the world,” she wrote on Instagram.
“And many men in positions of power have gotten away with it for far too long. We cannot blame the victims here. A lot of these women are young, just starting out in their respective fields, and have absolutely no way to stand up to a man with so much influence, much greater than theirs. If they speak up, they are shut down, and that could be the end of their career. This is all a positive step forward in changing that culture, and these young women need to know that they have a support system should anything like this happen to them.”