NOTE: The article below contains disturbing language and describes unsettling situations. Please read at your own discretion.
Accusations of sexual assault against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein are coming in at a rapid clip, and the latest names to allege sexual harassment are about as A-list as you can get.
Actors Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, both powerful, well-respected women in the movie business, stepped forward to The New York Times, revealing stories of harassment at the hands of Weinstein. The publication posted the article online Tuesday.
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Paltrow accused Weinstein of summoning her to his hotel room after he had hired the then-22-year-old for the lead role in the Jane Austen adaptation Emma. Once inside the room, she claims to the NYT, he placed his hands on her and proposed they give each other massages in the bedroom.
“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” she said.
She says that she told her boyfriend at the time, fellow actor Brad Pitt, who then confronted Weinstein. Soon afterwards, Weinstein warned Paltrow not to tell anybody else about what happened in the room.
READ MORE: Harvey Weinstein booted from The Weinstein Company over sexual harassment scandal
Jolie claims she had a similar experience with Weinstein while doing press for 1990 movie Playing By Heart, as she recounted to the NYT. She accuses him of inappropriately advancing on her in a hotel room.
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“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did,” Jolie said in an email. “This behaviour towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable.”
Last week, the NYT published a bombshell article that sent shock waves through Tinseltown; it accused Weinstein of decades of sexual harassment.
The news organization said its reporters interviewed numerous people who had been involved with Weinstein and The Weinstein Company over the last 30 years, including movie industry insiders and current and past employees. The newspaper went on to say their reporters also combed through emails, internal documents and legal records.
READ MORE: Glenn Close, other celebrities say ‘casting couch is still a reality’
Actors Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan are among the other celebrities who accuse Weinstein of impropriety.
Also on Tuesday, The New Yorker reported that Weinstein previously raped three women, significantly intensifying the scandal. A representative for Weinstein vehemently denied the allegations in a statement to the magazine.
The New Yorker exposé detailed allegations not just of sexual harassment but of three incidents involving rape. Actor Asia Argento and a former aspiring actor named Lucia Evans went on the record to allege Weinstein forced himself on them sexually. A third woman spoke anonymously.
Lawyers for Weinstein did not immediately return messages. The New Yorker quoted Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister responding that “any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”
The article also cited a 2015 audio recording made by the New York Police department wherein Weinstein admits to groping a model named Ambra Battilana Guiterrez.
Along with their article, The New Yorker tweeted this audio clip of Weinstein in conversation with Gutierrez:
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office released a statement on Tuesday afternoon explaining why no charges were laid against Weinstein at the time of the recording.
https://twitter.com/ManhattanDA/status/917817582048174080/
“While the recording is horrifying to listen to, what emerged from the audio was insufficient to prove a crime under New York law, which requires prosecutors to establish criminal intent,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the chief assistant district attorney. “Subsequent investigative steps undertaken in order to establish intent were not successful.”
On Sunday, Weinstein sent a private email to a number of Hollywood executives at studios, networks and talent agencies, begging for them to help save his job.
Janice Min, The Hollywood Reporter’s former editor, tweeted the email hours before he was fired from The Weinstein Company.
https://twitter.com/janicemin/status/917485536020905984
According to The Hollywood Reporter, among the executives to receive Weinstein’s email were Discovery Network’s CEO David Zaslav, former DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, NBCUniversal vice chair Ron Meyer, WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel and CAA managing partner Kevin Huvane.
READ MORE: George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence speak out about Harvey Weinstein allegations
The 65-year-old Weinstein and his wife, Georgina Chapman, 41, are reportedly holed up in a Los Angeles hotel. The two married in 2007 and have two children, aged seven and four.
Weinstein has threatened to file a lawsuit against the NYT.
— With files from The Associated Press and Katie Scott
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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