MORE ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS EMERGE IN
ASHLEY JUDD Actress ROSE MCGOWAN Actress AMBRA GUTIERREZ Model UP TO three movie makers involved in some of the biggest blockbuster films of the past decade are being implicated in claims of sexual assault and harassment following the Harvey Weinstein affair.
And several major players have contacted lawyers over concerns their names will be made public as allegations against the film mogul mount.
Some actresses who signed confidentiality agreements for big payoffs are considering breaking their silence to reveal Weinstein is not alone.
Several up-and-coming gay actors have spoken to lawyers about studio executives who offer “lay for pay” deals – sex in return for the promise of a future role.
An insider said: “Harvey’s misdemeanours are just the tip of the iceberg. This could be the first of many Hollywood scandals.
“It’s certainly got studios fearing the worst.
“They now believe anyone is fair game considering even the biggest producer in town isn’t bulletproof.
“Their fears have been worsened by the fact that they’ve learned several leading actresses have contacted legal representatives to see if they should talk about their experiences of sexual assault and harassment from producers and directors.
“Many feel that the current climate has allowed them to finally speak out.
“However, some are concerned that if they do, they will never work in Hollywood again.”
British director Duncan Roy, 57, confirmed that senior figures are involved in other potential scandals.
But he feared Hollywood’s “silencing machine” will stop many more cases like Weinstein’s emerging.
He added: “I have sat in rooms at SAA (Sex Addicts Anonymous) for the past five years listening to some of these people talking about their sexual problems.
“A lot of these incredibly powerful men believe they are entitled to take whatever they want from women and from men.
“I was talking today to two people – an ex-studio head and a current head of a major agency.
“They are justifiably worried because these things are usually kept quiet because the women collude.
“They do what they’re told and everybody in Hollywood is terrified of upsetting everybody else because LUCIA EVANS Actress ASIA ARGENTO Actress EMMA DE CAUNES Actress they will lose their jobs and there’s a lot of money at stake. “I think that a lot of the women who are speaking now had to sign agreements. “But nobody would dare sue a high-profile actress for breaking that agreement.” The Manhattan district attorney’s office have been working overtime sifting through evidence on numerous sex assault allegations against Weinstein. Yesterday, they were understood to be probing claims he used ROSANNA ARQUETTE Actress GWYNETH PALTROW Actress company cash to pay off some victims. A former Manhattan assistant district attorney said: “If he used company funds to pay off these women he could be charged with a slew of finance offences.”
Scotland Yard said a child abuse and sexual offences unit will be looking into an alleged assault in the London area in the 1980s.
An executive at Amazon was also drawn into the scandal.
Actress Rose McGowan, one of the first women to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment, tweeted on Thursday: “HW raped me.”
The 44-year-old then made a series of claims in several tweets to Amazon chief executive and founder Jeff ANGELINA JOLIE Actress KATHERINE KENDALL Actress JUDITH GODRECHE Actress DAWN DUNNING Actress ZOE BROCK Model Bezos. She wrote: “I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. “Over and over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof.” The actress also claimed the studio had won a “dirty Oscar” and added: “I love @amazon but there is rot in Hollywood.” Yesterday, Amazon said studio head Roy Price had been put on leave of absence “effective immediately” and they were “reviewing options for projects we have with The Weinstein Co”. Three women had previously accused Weinstein of rape, claims he denies. Actress Kate Beckinsale, 44, also