I was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel when I was 17. I assumed it would be in the conference room, which was very common.When I arrived ,reception told me to go to his room . He opened the door in his bathrobe . I was incredibly naive and young, and it did not cross my mind that this older ,unattractive man, would you expect me to have any sexual interest in him .After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning, I left uneasy but unscathed.A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting .I has carried out and he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not .I had what I thought were a european – I said no to him professionally many times over the years-some of which ended up with him screaming at me and calling me a cunt and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people ” oh, “Kate’s lives, and to say no to me .” It speaks to the status quo in this business, that I was aware that standing up for myself and saying no to things,while it did allow me to feel uncompromised in myself,undoubtedly harmed my career, and that was never something I felt supported by anyone other than my family.I would like to applaud the women who have come forward , and to pledge that we can, from, this will create a new paradigm where producers,managers,executives and assistants and everyone, who has in the past shrugged and said, ” well, that’s just-in-Harvey /Mr-X/insert name here ” will realize that we are in numbers, can affect real change.For every moment like this there would have been thousands where the vulnerable person has confided outrageous unprofessional behavior, and found they have no recourse, due to an atmosphere of fear, that it seems almost everyone has been living in .I had a male friend who, based on my experience,warned the young actress who said she was going to dinner with Harvey to be careful. He received a phone call the next day saying he would never work in another Miramax film, the girl was already sleeping with Harvey, and had told him that my friend had warned her off.Let’s stop allowing our young women to be as sexual cannon fodder,and let’s remember that Harvey is an emblem of the system that is sick,and that we have work to do.
A publication that is shared by KateBeckinsale (@katebeckinsale) in the Oct 12, 2017 at 6:02 pm PDT