On Tuesday, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie came forward as two of multiple women accusing film executive Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.
Both actresses spoke to The New York Times, saying that they were both victims of his unwanted sexual advances. While Paltrow was filming Emma at the age of 22, she says Weinstein invited her to his hotel room in Beverly Hills where he, "placed his hands on her and suggested they head to the bedroom for massages."
"I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified," Paltrow told the Times.
Gwyneth Paltrow & Angelina Jolie are now going on-the-record to speak out about how Weinstein sexually harassed them https://t.co/Qi92wsZ6j5pic.twitter.com/8vs9y6aFIR
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 10, 2017
The actress says she refused his advances and told Brad Pitt, her boyfriend at the time, about what had happened. When he confronted Weinstein about it later, the film executive reportedly called Paltrow and threatened her not to tell anyone else. "He screamed at me for a long time," she said in her interview with the Times. "It was brutal."
Angelina Jolie's account of Weinstein's behavior is similar. "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 wrote to the Times in an email. "This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable."
Since allegations against him were revealed last week, Weinstein released a (very awkward) statement in response to the Times's original article. "I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed. 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."
