28.03.2024

Brad Pitt confronted Weinstein after he attacked Gwyneth

Brad Pitt has admitted that he once confronted Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s after the predatory movie mogul sexually propositioned his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow.

Paltrow, now 45, had been quiet on Weinstein’s decades of sexual harassment until Tuesday when, in an interview with The New York Times, she too claimed that she had been victim to Weinstein’s sexual misconduct when she was 22.

She revealed that Weinstein put his hands on her suggestively and tried to lead her into a bedroom to have a joint massage in his suite at The Peninsula Hotel during a meeting that her agents at C.A.A. had set up when she refused.

Afterwards, she confided in Pitt and he confronted Weinstein when they later ran into one another.

Pitt confirmed Paltrow’s version of events to the Times but offered no further comment on the subject.

In the same interview, his estranged wife Angelina Jolie identified herself as another victim.

They join Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd, Rosanna Arquette and Mira Sorvino who all say they were at some point sexually harassed by Weinstein over the last 30 years.

In her interview on Tuesday, Paltrow told how Weinstein was afraid she was going to lose the title role in Emma, Weinstein’s 1996 adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, when the incident in his room occurred.

‘I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,’ Paltrow recalled. She rebuffed him and left promptly, later telling Pitt about the encounter.

Paltrow, the daughter of Hollywood legends Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow who grew up mingling with the industry’s biggest stars, said she recalled thinking: ‘I thought you were my Uncle Harvey’.

Brad Pitt confronted Harvey Weinstein (above together in 2009) at a theater premiere in the mid 1990s after being told by his then girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow that he had propositioned her

Brad Pitt confronted Harvey Weinstein (above together in 2009) at a theater premiere in the mid 1990s after being told by his then girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow that he had propositioned her

Pitt and Paltrow dated between 1994 and 1997, during which time she starred in the film Emma for Weinstein  Paltrow revealed on Tuesday that in the mid 1990s, Weinstein propositioned her in a hotel room. She said he put his hands on her suggestively and asked if they should get massages but she refused. They are seen above together in 2002 

Pitt and Paltrow dated between 1994 and 1997, during which time she starred in the film Emma for Weinstein

After Pitt confronted Weinstein, the mogul phoned Paltrow and allegedly told her to never mention it to anyone else.

Paltrow, who has taken a backseat from acting in recent years to spearhead her lifestyle and wellness business Goop, said she feared her career would be over if she did not comply.

‘I thought he was going to fire me. He screamed at me for a long time. It was brutal,’ she said.

They continued to work together and both enjoyed meteoric success as a result of the partnership with Paltrow winning an Oscar in 1999 for her role in Weinstein’s Shakespeare In Love.

She resigned herself to never speaking of the incident, admitting: ‘I was expected to keep the secret.’

The actress, 45, said she had decided to finally speak out against Weinstein – who she described as ‘alternately generous and supportive and championing, and punitive and bullying,’ to send a message.

Paltrow continued to work with Weinstein, who she thought of as 'her Uncle Harvey', and said she was 'expected to keep the secret'. The pair are seen above celebrating her Oscar for Best Actress in his movie Shakespeare In Love in 1999 

Paltrow continued to work with Weinstein, who she thought of as ‘her Uncle Harvey’, and said she was ‘expected to keep the secret’. The pair are seen above celebrating her Oscar for Best Actress in his movie Shakespeare In Love in 1999

Ben Affleck, who was Paltrow's boyfriend after Brad Pitt, (Above together in  1998) spoke out on Tuesday to condemn Weinstein's behavior 

Ben Affleck, who was Paltrow’s boyfriend after Brad Pitt, (Above together in  1998) spoke out on Tuesday to condemn Weinstein’s behavior

‘We’re at a point in time when women need to send a clear message that this is over. This way of treating women ends now,’ she said.

She lamented the fact that her agents had set up the meeting and told how she trusted she would be in safe hands because they had set it up.

‘It’s on the fax, it’s from C.A.A.,’ she said of seeing the appointment penciled in to her schedule. Paltrow moved from C.A.A. to United Talent Agency in 2008.

Other actresses have told how Weinstein lured them to hotel rooms under the pretense of business meetings but said that staff and assistants disappeared once they were there.

Pitt and Paltrow dated from 1994 to 1997. He married Angelina Jolie,  another of Weinstein’s unsuspecting victims, in 2014.

In an email to the New York Times on Tuesday, Jolie, who has since separated from Pitt, admitted she was once also targeted by Weinstein in the same way.

‘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.

‘This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable,’ Jolie said.  Their encounter was in 1998 during the release of her film Playing by Heart.

Jolie and Paltrow are the latest stars to break their silence on the scandal that has been engulfing Weinstein since The New York Times revealed last week that he was the subject of decades-old allegations of sexual harassment.

Pitt's estranged wife Angelina Jolie (together in 2013) also claims to have been harassed by Weinstein in the late 1990s. She said the incident drove her to never work with him again 

Pitt’s estranged wife Angelina Jolie (together in 2013) also claims to have been harassed by Weinstein in the late 1990s. She said the incident drove her to never work with him again

At the time, Weinstein apologized for his behavior and said he had taken a leave of absence from his production company.

He however denies any non-consensual sex and, through a spokeswoman, pointed on on Tuesday in an email to the Times that ‘there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.’

The accusations became on more serious on Tuesday when, in an in-depth article by The New Yorker, Italian actress Asia Argento accused Weinstein of raping her by forcible performing oral sex on her against her will in another hotel room.

Ben Affleck, one of Paltrow’s other former boyfriends, broke his silence on Tuesday in a damning statement.

‘I am saddened and angry that a man who I worked with used his position of power to intimidate, sexually harass and manipulate many women over decades.

‘The additional allegations of assault that I read this morning made me sick.

‘This is completely unacceptable, and I find myself asking what I can do to make sure this doesn’t happen to others,’ he said.

Jennifer Lawrence, George Clooney and Kate Winslet have all offered similarly disgusted statements.

WEINSTEIN’S ACCUSERS

Harvey Weinstein has been slammed with multiple accusations of sexual harassment after a report detailing a $100,000 settlement he reportedly made to Rose McGowan in the mid-’90s emerged this week.

Below are some of the women who have accused Weinstein of harassing them, or other women. Angelina Jolie said she had to turn down Weinstein’s advances as a young actress

Gwyneth Paltrow: The star told the New York Times that Weinstein touched her and suggested having joint massages in the bedroom before she started shooting Emma. She said she told her then boyfriend Brad Pitt about the incident and he confronted the mogul

Angelina Jolie: Jolie told the Times she had to turn down advances from Weinstein in the late 1990s and she chose never to work with him again. She said she warned other women about him

Louisette Geiss:  Actress was called to a late night meeting with Weinstein. He allegedly emerged in a bathrobe and told her he would green light her script if she watched him masterbate. She left the meeting

Judith Godreche: The French actress says Weinstein tried to massage her and pull off her sweater after asking her up to his Cannes suite to see the view in 1996

Dawn Dunning: Aspiring actress says she was called to a meeting about future film projects. When she arrived Weinstein presented her with three scripts for his next three movies which he would let her star in, only if she had three-way sex with him. She fled the hotel

Tomi-Ann Roberts: Weinstein met her when she was serving tables and told her to meet him at his home. When she arrived he was in the bath and told her she would give a better audition if she was naked. She says she refused and left

Asia Argento: The Italian actress has accused Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was 21. ‘He terrified me, and he was big. It wouldn’t stop. It was a nightmare.’  She said she went on to have consensual sex with him over the years that followed. She documented the alleged attack in her 2000 film Scarlet Diva

Katherine Kendall: The Swingers actress was told Weinstein had to stop off in his apartment to pick something up after a screening. He changed into a bathrobe and told her to massage her. When she resisted she said the mogul returned naked and chased her

Lucia Evans: Aspiring actress claims Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him. Speaking to the New Yorker, she said that she suffered years of trauma after the incident which occurred in a ‘casting meeting’ in a Miramax office in Manhattan Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that Weinstein attempted to get her into a hotel bedroom and massage her when she was 22

Mira Sorvino: The Mighty Aphrodite actress told the New Yorker that Weinstein tried to massage her in a hotel room at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival. He then went to her home in the middle of the night but she called a male friend to protect her. She said turning down the mogul adversely affected her career

Rosanna Arquette:  The actress also said her career suffered after she rebuffed Weinstein’s advances. At a hotel meeting he tried to put her hand on his erect penis, she claims

Rose McGowan: The actress, who made her breakthrough in 1996 in the Weinstein-produced slasher revival movie Scream, reportedly sued Weinstein after he approached her during production of that movie. She signed a non-disclosure agreement at the close of the suit and has only referred to him obliquely in social media since. On Sunday she referred to being abused by a ‘monster’ and has previously referred to being raped by a studio head

Career suicide: Mira Sorvino revealed how her career nose-dived after she turned down Weinstein’s advances

Ashley Judd: Judd’s film roles include the thriller Kiss the Girls – and says that during the filming of that movie Weinstein repeatedly asked her to watch him shower. She was one of the women who spoke out to The New York Times this week, saying: ‘Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly.’

Emma De Caunes: French actress Emma de Caunes said that she met Weinstein in 2010, soon after he told her he had a script he was producing based on a book with a strong female character. Weinstein offered to show her the script, and asked her up to his hotel room, where he began to take a shower. He then emerged naked and with an erection, asking her to lay down with him on the bed and telling her that many had done so before. ‘I was very petrified,’ said de Caunes. ‘But I didn’t want to show him that I was petrified, because I could feel that the more I was freaking out, the more he was excited.’

Zelda Perkins was 25 when, as an assistant of Weinstein’s in London, she reportedly confronted the mogul for harassing her and ‘several’ other women; she later settled out of court

Lauren O’Connor: A former employee of The Weinstein Company, she told executives there in the fall of 2015 that there was ‘a toxic environment for women at this company’ after one of her colleagues told her that Weinstein had pressured her into massaging him while he was naked, the NYT said.

Ambra Battilana: An Italian actress and model, she told the NYT that in March 2015 Weinstein invited her to his New York office. There, she said, he asked if her breasts were real before grabbing them and putting his hands up her skirt. She reported the alleged incident to police, but they did not press charges. According to the NYT, Weinstein later paid her off.

Laura Madden: < /span>An ex-employee, she told the NYT that Weinstein had asked her to give him massages from 1991 onwards, while they were both in London and Dublin. ‘It was so manipulative,’ she told the NYT. ‘You constantly question yourself – am I the one who is the problem?’ Weinstein denied knowledge.

Emily Nestor: Nestor was a temporary employee of the Weinstein Company for just one day in 2014 when Weinstein approached her and offered to boost her career in exchange for sex, the NYT reported.

Zelda Perkins: An assistant of Weinstein’s based in London in 1998; then 25, she reportedly confronted Weinstein after she and ‘several’ others were harassed and later settled out of court.

Elizabeth Karlsen, an Oscar-winning producer, said a female executive told her almost 30 years ago that she had found Weinstein naked in her bedroom in a Miramax-rented property

Elizabeth Karlsen: The Oscar-nominated producer of Carol and The Crying Game, among others, told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday that almost 30 years ago, an unnamed young female executive who had worked at Miramax with Weinstein had found him naked in her bedroom one night. The exec was in a house rented by Miramax at the time to cut its overheads.

Liza Campbell: A freelance script reader, she told the UK’s Sunday Times that Weinstein had summoned her to his hotel room in London before telling her to get in the bath with him.

Lauren Sivan: The former Fox news host said that Weinstein trapped her in a closed restaurant and masturbated in front of her to completion in 2007. He took her to a closed restaurant beneath a club she had visited and attempted to kiss her, then when she refused he cornered her and made her watch him touch himself, according to The Huffington Post.

Jessica Hynes: The British actress, best known for her roles in the Bridget Jones movies and for co-creating and co-writing the sitcom Spaced, said she was invited to audition for Weinstein when she was 19 – in a bikini. Hynes, formerly known as Jessica Stevenson, said she refused to wear the skimpy item – and lost the job.

Romola Garai: British actress Romola Garai said she felt “violated” following a meeting with Harvey Weinstein in his London hotel room when she was 18 in which he was in a bathrobe. Garai, best known for her role in “Atonement”, said she had already been hired for a part but was told to audition privately with the Hollywood mogul because ‘you had to be personally approved by him’. “Like every other woman in the industry, I’ve had an ‘audition’ with Harvey Weinstein,” she told The Guardian. ‘So I had to go to his hotel room in the Savoy and he answered the door in his bathrobe. I was only 18. I felt violated by it’.

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