As part of an in-depth investigative article by The New York Times, several women have come forward with similar accusations of sexual harassment regarding Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
All of the scenarios seem to involve a similar set-up: being invited up to his room in a particular fancy hotel room, before being offered or requested to take part in some kind of massage, or asking to watch him while he showered. Other women have reported that he groped them, or put his hands up their skirt.
Ashley Judd is one of the high-profile actresses mentioned within the article, who claims she repeatedly had to turn down Weinstein’s advances in his hotel room while she was shooting Kiss The Girls, while Rose McGowan made similar allegations while she was on the publicity campaign for Scream, which was produced by Weinstein’s company at the time, Miramax.
Let’s play get ready to blame the victims
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 4, 2017
Weinstein, who now works and part-owns The Weinstein Brothers production company with his brother Bob, is said to have paid out to at least eight settlements to women over the years, including an assistant in New York in 1990, an actress in 1997, another assistant in London in 1998 and an Italian model in 2015.
Laura Madden, an former employee, told the NYT that Weinstein had requested massages from her in Dublin and London hotels as far back as 1991, stating: “It was so manipulative. You constantly question yourself — am I the one who is the problem?”
Weinstein sent in a long statement to the New York Times (the full statement is available on their report), stating: “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.”
Despite this, The Hollywood Reporter states that Weinstein is preparing to sue The New York Times, with Weinstein’s lawyer Charles Harder (who represented Hulk Hogan in his infamous case against Gawker) claiming that they “published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women’s organisations.”
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