Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie have joined the ranks of Hollywood women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
Both Paltrow and Jolie have described accounts from the ’90s where Weinstein attempted to lure them into physical encounters in hotel rooms, the stars told the New York Times on Tuesday.
“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” Paltrow told the Times of an incident in 1995. Paltrow had just landed the lead in the Jane Austen adaptation “Emma,” financed and distributed by Weinstein’s company Miramax.
Before the start of production, Weinstein invited Paltrow to his room at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills for a work meeting, the actress said. It ended with Weinstein “placing his hands on her and suggesting they head to the bedroom for massages,” Paltrow said.
Paltrow said she confided in her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt, who was said to have then confronted Weinstein. After that, Weinstein warned her not to tell anyone else, she said.
“I thought he was going to fire me,” Paltrow added. The star would go on to make 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love” at Miramax, a performance that earned her the Best Actress Oscar. The same year, the studio also released the Paltrow rom-com “Sliding Doors.”
Many of Weinstein’s accusers, who have steadily come forward since a New York Times article last week and a New Yorker investigative piece on Tuesday, have similar accusations about hotel room encounters.
So did Jolie.
“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warned others when they did,” Jolie wrote in an email to the Times.
Her encounter with Weinstein happened around the release of 1998’s “Playing by Heart,” where Jolie said she also was victim of unwanted advances in a hotel room.
“This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable,” Jolie added. Other actresses to come forward on the record include Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd, Asia Argento, Rosanna Arquette. Former employees accusing Weinstein include Lauren O’Connor and Emily Nestor.
In response to the harassment and rape allegations made in the New Yorker story, Weinstein spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister issued the following statement:
“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances,” Hofmeister said. “He will not be available for further comments, as he is taking the time to focus on his family, on getting counseling and rebuilding his life.”