First it was a trickle now it’s a flood - another 13 women have come forward against Harvey Weinstein including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rosanna Arquette are among the Hollywood stars who claim to have been personally harassed by disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, according to a New York Times report.
"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 told the New York Times.
Actress Angelina Jolie. Photo / AP
"This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable."
Paltrow has claimed the producer touched her inappropriately and tried to invite her to his hotel bedroom for "massages", after she was cast in the lead role of his 1996 Jane Austen adaptation Emma.
"I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified," said Paltrow, who was 22-years-old at the time.
After refusing his advances, Paltrow complained about Weinstein's behaviour to her friend Brad Pitt.
When the producer learnt of their conversation, "He screamed at me for a long time," Paltrow said.
Although Pitt has not spoken in person about the issue, a representative for the actor confirmed Paltrow's account on his behalf.
These latest accusations follow an extensive report published last week revealing decades of sexual harassment claims levelled at the producer, who has since been fired from The Weinstein Company, the business he co-founded.
Meanwhile, Asia Argento has accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her in an interview with the New Yorker.
Chris Backus, Mira Sorvino and Harvey Weinstein. Photo / Getty Images
The Italian star claims that in 1997 she was at a party hosted by Miramax at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc when Weinstein led to her an empty room and asked her to give him a massage.
She reluctantly agreed, and halfway through he began to perform oral sex on her despite her repeated request for him to stop, according Daily Mail.
In the same article, both Rosanna Arquette and Mira Sorvino state that the powerful Hollywood executive forced himself upon them, but that they were able to fight off his sexual advances.
The New Yorker also contains a secret audio recording of Weinstein apparently propositioning model and former Miss Italy contestant Ambra Battilana Gutierrez.
She alleges Weinstein groped her breasts and put his hands up her skirt in March 2015. Gutierrez complained to the NYPD, who wired her up as she met with Weinstein the next day.
At the time, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced that an investigation didn't support criminal charges.
"If we could have prosecuted Harvey Weinstein for the conduct that occurred in 2015, we would have," Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, chief assistant district attorney, said Tuesday."
While the recording is horrifying to listen to, what emerged from the audio was insufficient to prove a crime under New York law, which requires prosecutors to establish criminal intent," she added.
"Subsequent investigative steps undertaken in order to establish intent were not successful. This, coupled with other proof issues, meant that there was no choice but to conclude the investigation without criminal charges."
The New Yorker published the audio of that meeting.
"Oh, please, I'm sorry, just come on in," Weinstein tells Gutierrez. "I'm used to that. Come on. Please."
"Yes," Weinstein says. He later adds, "I won't do it again."
The New Yorker story, written and researched by the NBC correspondent Ronan Farrow, claimed that thirteen women have said Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them between 1990 and 2015. T
The incidents described range from unwanted groping to forced sex.
Some of those incidents overlap with the eight allegations of sexual harassment previously reported by The New York Times, all of which resulted in financial settlements.
Lucia Evans, then a senior at Middlebury College, said Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004 at the Miramax offices in Tribeca, AP reports
She had been brought in for a casting meeting with Weinstein.
Argento, an actress and director, said Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999.
Asia Argento and Harvey Weinstein during 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Photo / Getty Images
A third woman spoke anonymously.
"I know he has crushed a lot of people before," Argento told The New Yorker. "That's why this story - in my case, it's twenty years old, some of them are older - has never come out."
Attorneys for Weinstein did not immediately return messages . The New Yorker quoted Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister responding that "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. Mr. Weinstein obviously can't speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual," said Hofmeister.
"Mr. Weinstein has begun counselling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance."
Harvey Weinstein is hiring a new lawyer who plans to discredit the women who have spoken out about the sexual harassment and assault they allegedly faced at the hands of the famed producer, DailyMail.com has exclusively learned.
Los Angeles lawyer Patricia 'Patty' Glaser will represent Weinstein in wake of the several damaging allegations that were revealed in an explosive New York Times report on Thursday, sources told DailyMail.com
Harvey Weinstein is hiring Patricia 'Patty' Glaser to be his new lawyer in wake of several damaging sexual harassment and assault allegations made against him. Photo / Glaser Weil
The top Hollywood litigator will take over for Lisa Bloom, who championed herself as a women's advocate in the past, after the celebrity's attorney quit over the weekend.
Sources exclusively told DailyMail.com that Glaser's plan of attack is to go after the victims who have claimed Weinstein sexually assaulted them and to also sue his company after he was fired from his own film studio.
Glaser has previously handled the cases of Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz and American Apparel Ceo Dov Charvoney after they were fired in wake of sexual harassment allegations.
She has also represented Miley Cyrus, Conan O'Brien, Paula Deen, Ryan Seacrest, Rush Limbaugh and Kirk Kerkorian in the past, who left her US$6 million when he passed away in 2015.
Notable actors including Meryl Streep, Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton have stepped forward to publicly denounce the producer. Ruffalo accused Weinstein of "a disgusting abuse of power," while Keaton labelled him "disgusting and creepy" on Twitter.
In a statement given to the Huffington Post, Streep said: "The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported."
Ben Affleck poses in the press room at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Photo / AP
Ben Affleck has finally broken his silence to condemn Harvey Weinstein, saying the sexual harassment claims involving the film mogul made him sick, according to Daily Mail.
"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," Affleck said in a statement.
"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.
"We need to do better at protecting our sisters, friends, co-workers and daughters. We must support those who come forward, condemn this type of behavior when we see it and help ensure there are more women in positions of power."
Matt Damon says he never saw any predatory behavior from Harvey Weinstein but that the stories have made him sick to his stomach
Damon tells the trade website Deadline that change is necessary and overdue and that men have to be part of that.
He praised the courage of the women who have spoken out with allegations against Weinstein.
Affleck and co-star Matt Damon owe their careers to Weinstein after winning an Oscar back in 1998 for best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting. The film, which they both starred in, was produced by The Weinstein Company.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton broke six days of silence on the Harvey Weinstein scandal hours after he was alleged to have committed three rapes, saying she was "shocked and appalled" - but saying nothing about returning his tainted donations, according to Daily Mail.
The 2016 presidential loser issued a statement through her spokesman saying his behavior "cannot be tolerated".
"I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein," Clinton said.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo / AP
"The behaviour described by the women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behaviour."
Her statement ended silence but left open the crucial issue of the vast amount of cash Weinstein donated directly to her and her family, and brought in from his celebrity friends.
And it came after two public appearances in which she said nothing about her mega-donor friend's sexual harassment scandal, even as she spoke atone, at UC Davis on Monday, about the "double standards" faced by women running for president.
The Clinton Foundation has also continued to duck requests for comment from DailyMail.com about its up to US$250,000 donor.
