Hollywood Molestation case: Now Angelina Jolie too opens up about being harassed by Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, a well known American film producer and co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, has been fired by the company's board of director following the allegations of sexual assault and harassment against him.
If all the sexual assault and harassment cases are compiled against the Hollywood producer in the last six days, the total number of 25 accusations has surfaced so far and shockingly Harvey Weinstein has already confessed in seven cases.
In the latest development, it has been revealed that the women he allegedly harassed include the name of popular Hollywood ladies such as Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Weinstein Company that he co-founded and was the co-chairman along with his brother had fired him. The popular designer Georgina Chapman, who is his wife, also said in a recent interview that she is leaving him.
Popular Hollywood celebrities such as George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio have also listed themselves in the series of celebrities who voiced their contempt for Mr Weinstein.
The Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who won the prestigious award for her performance in the Weinstein-produced Silver Linings Playbook said, "I worked with Harvey five years ago and I did not experience any form of harassment personally, nor did I know about any of these allegations. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting."
Leonardo DiCaprio, who acted in many Weinstein films such as, 'The Aviator', 'Gangs Of New York' and 'Django Unchained', also took to Twitter to express his anger. This is what he wrote on Twitter, “There is no excuse for sexual harassment and sexual assault – no matter who you are and no matter what profession.I applaud the strength and courage of the women who came forward and made their voices heard.”
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) October 11, 2017
George Clooney, who rose to fame for the film 'Dusk till down' produced by Weinstein, said that "It's indefensible. That's the only word you can start with. Harvey's admitted to it, and it's indefensible. We've had dinners, we've been on location together, we've had arguments. But, I can tell you that I've never seen any of this behavior ever. I think that people weren't looking, because in some ways, a lecherous guy with money picking up younger girls is unfortunately not a news story in our society."
'The Iron Lady' fame Meryl Streep, who referred Mr Weinstein as 'God' in the Golden Globes award also stated that, "The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes. One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew... I didn't know about these other offences: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts. And If everybody knew, I don't believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it. The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game."
First published: 12 October 2017, 11:24 IST