‘It’ll put other rats back in their holes’
Smurfit applauds women who have spoken out against mogul Weinstein
VICTORIA Smurfit has applauded the women who have gone public with allegations of sexual harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The Ballykissangel actress said she hopes their actions will prevent other ‘rats’ from abusing their power.
The 43-year-old Dubliner says she feels lucky she never had such an experience.
‘I think it’s fantastic that it’s been blown open. Any other rats it’ll put them back in their hole,’ she said.
Ms Smurfit said there are ‘many that have abused their power in any business’, adding: ‘Anybody that has done so and knows it will hopefully step down and away from thinking they can abuse their power again.
‘I also think it’s going to give female producers opportunities in ways they may not have had. The problem is you only need one person to mess it up for the masses. Thank goodness that’s been outed.’
The actress said she is fortunate not to have gone through the experiences described by Weinstein’s accusers.
‘They’re using their power for good, and making an astonishingly difficult choice. I applaud it from the hills, but I’m lucky I never came across it,’ she said.
Her comments come as Harvey Weinstein’s brother Bob has been forced to deny he sexually harassed a TV industry colleague who has accused him of pestering her to go out with him.
Amanda Segel, a former executive producer of sci-fi series The Mist, complained that Bob Weinstein, 62, made repeated ‘romantic overtures’ to her including invites to dinner, his home and – on one occasion – to his hotel room.
She says the propositions continued for three months until her lawyer said she would leave the show if it persisted.
Ms Segel told Hollywood industry magazine Variety: ‘After “no”, anybody who has asked you out should just move on.’
A lawyer for Bob Weinstein has vehemently rejected the allegations, saying they were ‘riddled with false and misleading assertions’ and didn’t amount to sexual harassment.