In a recent interview, director Peter Jackson alleged that Harvey Weinstein warned him not to cast actresses Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd in any of his projects because they were “a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs,” which for Sorvino confirmed suspicions that Weinstein had launched a “smear campaign” against her.
“There it is,” the Oscar-winning actress wrote on Twitter, “confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure.”
This led to a response from Toronto-born actress Tara Strong, who has voiced numerous animated series including The Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans Go! and Rick and Morty.
“Heartbreaking…” Strong wrote, “wouldn’t be surprised if this happened to my good friend @Jason_Priestley who punched Weinstein in the face at a club one night.”
Twitter users were intrigued, and asked the Canadian Beverly Hills, 90210 alum if there was more to the story. Indeed there was, with Priestley offering a Twitter response to explain what happened.
“Of course there is more to the story… ‘95 Golden Globes… at the Miramax Party… Harvey told me I had to leave… I was leaving when he grabbed me by the arm and said ‘what are you doing?’ I said ‘you told me leave, I’m leaving,’” Priestley wrote.
“‘I didn’t say you had to leave’ he replied. ‘You just told me to leave… right over there’ I tell him once again. Getting heated now. He then grabs me tighter and says ‘why don’t we go outside and talk about this.’ That was all I needed to hear,” said the star of Global’s “Private Eyes”.
“‘I’m not going anywhere with you’ I said as I pushed him back and punched him with a right hand to his face,” Priestley added. “Suddenly, there were security guards pulling us apart and I was escorted out of the party…”
Weinstein addressed Jackson’s allegations, denying there was a “smear campaign” against Judd and Sorvino. “As Mr. Jackson will probably remember, because Disney would not finance the Lord of the Rings, Miramax lost the project and all casting was done by New Line,” a rep for Weinstein wrote in a statement. “While Bob and Harvey Weinstein were executive producers of the film, they had no input into the casting whatsoever.”
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