Here’s what Hollywood is saying about Weinstein now:
Oprah Winfrey, on
Facebook:
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“I’ve been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein’s hideous behavior and haven’t been able to find the words to articulate the magnitude of the situation. Filmmaker
James Schamus captured so much of what I’ve been feeling when he said:
“
This is the story of one predator and his many victims; but it is also a story about an overwhelming systemic enabling, and until that story is fully told we will fall far short of stopping future depredations on a similar scale.
“Thanks to the brave voices we’ve heard this week, many more will now be emboldened to come forward EVERY time this happens. I believe a shift is coming.”
Quentin Tarantino, via Amber Tamblyn on
Twitter:
“For the last week I’ve been stunned and heartbroken about the revelations that have come to light about my friend for 25 years Harvey Weinstein. I need a few more days to process my pain, emotions, anger and memory and then I will speak publicly about it.”
Tippi Hedren, on
Twitter:
“I’m watching all the coverage on Weinstein. This is nothing new, nor is it limited to the entertainment industry. I dealt with sexual harassment all the time, during my modeling and film career. Hitchcock wasn’t the first. However, I wasn’t going to take it anymore, so I simply walked away and didn’t look back. Hitch said he would ruin my career and I told him to do what he had to do. It has taken 50 years, but it is about time that women started standing up for themselves as they appear to be doing in the Weinstein case. Good for them!”
Emma Thompson, on
BBC Newsnight:
“I didn’t know about these things, but they don’t surprise me at all and they’re endemic to the system anyway. What I find sort of extraordinary is that this man is at the top of a very particular iceberg. I don’t think you can describe him as a sex addict; he’s a predator. But he’s, as it were, the top of the ladder of is a system of harassment, and belittling, and bullying, and interference, and what my mother would have referred to in the olden days as ’pestering. . .’ This has bene part of our world, women’s world, since time immemorial. So what we need to start talking about is the crisis in masculinity, the crisis of extreme masculinity, which is this sort of behavior, and the fact that it is not only O.K., but it is also represented by the most powerful man in the world at the moment.”
Ryan Gosling, on
Twitter:
“I want to add my voice of support for the women who have had the courage to speak out against Harvey Weinstein. Like most people in Hollywood, I have worked with him and I’m deeply disappointed in myself for being so oblivious to these devastating experiences of sexual harassment and abuse. He is emblematic of a systemic problem. Men should stand with women and work together until there is real accountability and change.”
Blake Lively, in an interview with the
Hollywood Reporter:
“That was never my experience with Harvey in any way whatsoever, and I think that if people heard these stories … I do believe in humanity enough to think that this wouldn’t have just continued. I never heard any stories like this — I never heard anything specific — but it’s devastating to hear.”
“The number one thing that can happen is that people who share their stories, people have to listen to them and trust them, and people have to take it seriously. As important as it is to remain furious about this, it’s important to also say that this exists everywhere so remember to look everywhere. This isn’t a single incident. This cannot happen, this should not happen, and it happens in every single industry.”
Tom Hanks, in an interview with the
New York Times. An excerpt:
“You can’t buy, ‘Oh, well, I grew up in the ’60s and ’70s and so therefore. ...” [In his initial statement, Weinstein said his behavior was a result of the time period he grew up in.] “I did, too. So I think it’s like, well, what do you want from this position of power? I know all kinds of people that just love hitting on, or making the lives of underlings some degree of miserable, because they can . . . I’m not the first person to say Harvey’s a bit of an ass. Poor Harvey — I’m not going to say poor Harvey, Jesus. Isn’t it kind of amazing that it took this long? I’m reading it and I’m thinking ‘You can’t do that to Ashley Judd! Hey, I like her. Don’t do that. That ain’t fair. Not her, come on. Come on!’”
Colin Firth, in a statement to the
Guardian:
“It’s with a feeling of nausea that I read what was going on while I was benefiting from Harvey Weinstein’s support. He was a powerful and frightening man to stand up to. It must have been terrifying for these women to step up and call him out. And horrifying to be subjected to that kind of harassment. I applaud their courage. By coming forward they’ve provided a jolting wake up throughout our industry. I hope it’s going to be a help to others, both in our own industry and elsewhere.”
Bob Iger, in a
statement:
“Harvey Weinstein’s reported behavior is abhorrent and unacceptable, and it has no place in our society.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, on
Facebook:
“There is no excuse for sexual harassment or sexual assault — no matter who you are and no matter what profession. I applaud the strength and courage of the women who came forward and made their voices heard.”
Cate Blanchett, in a statement to
Variety:
“Any man in a position of power or authority who thinks it’s his prerogative to threaten, intimidate or sexually assault any woman he encounters or works alongside needs to be called to account. It is never easy for a woman to come forward in such situations and I wholeheartedly support those who have.”
Viola Davis, in a statement to
Variety:
“The predator wants your silence. It feeds their power, entitlement AND they want it to feed your shame. Our bodies are not the ‘spoils of war’… a trophy to be collected to fuel your ego. It’s OURS!!! It doesn’t belong to you!! And when you take it without permission, it DESTROYS…… like a virus!!!”
“To the predators.. Weinstein, the stranger, the relative, the boyfriend…. I say to you, ‘You can choose your sin but you don’t get to choose the consequences.’ To the victims…. I see you. I believe you… and I’m listening.”
Jeffrey Katzenberg, in an email he personally sent to Weinstein, then shared with the
Hollywood Reporter. An excerpt:
“You have done terrible things to a number of women over a period of years. I cannot in any way say this is OK with me…It’s not at all, and I am sickened by it, angry with you and incredibly disappointed in you. There appear to be two Harvey Weinsteins…one that I have known well, appreciated and admired and another that I have not known at all.”
Charlize Theron, in a statement to
BuzzFeed:
“The women who have spoken about their abuse are brave and heroic and although I didn’t have a personal experience like this with Harvey Weinstein, I unfortunately cannot say I’m surprised. This culture has always existed, not just in Hollywood but across the world. And many men in positions of power have gotten away with it for far too long. And we cannot blame the victims here. A lot of these women are young and just starting out in their respective fields, and have absolutely no way to stand up to a man with such greater influence than them. If they speak up, they are shut down, and that could be the end of their career. This is all a positive step forward in changing that culture, and these young women need to know that they have a support system should anything like this happen to them. And I want you all to know I’m here to support you.”
Nicole Kidman, in a statement to
People:
“As I’ve stated before publicly, I support and applaud all women and these women who speak out against any abuse and misuse of power — be it domestic violence or sexual harassment in the workforce,” she said. “We need to eradicate this behavior.”
Matt Damon, in an interview with
Deadline:
“Look, even before I was famous, I didn’t abide this kind of behavior. But now, as the father of four daughters, this is the kind of sexual predation that keeps me up at night. This is the great fear for all of us . . . I did five or six movies with Harvey. I never saw this. I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true.”
(Damon also denied allegedly helping Weinstein kill a 2004
New York Times report about the producer’s behavior.)
Ben Affleck, on
Facebook:
“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. 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.”
Emma Watson, on
Twitter:
“I stand with all the women who have been sexually harassed, and am awestruck by their bravery. This mistreatment of women has to stop.”
She later
added: “In this instance it was women affected but I also stand with all the men, indeed any person, who has suffered sexual harassment.”
Jennifer Lawrence, per the
Daily Beast:
“I was deeply disturbed to hear the news about Harvey Weinstein’s behavior. I worked with Harvey five years ago and I did not experience any form of harassment personally, nor did I know about any of these allegations. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting.
My heart goes out to all of the women affected by these gross actions. And I want to thank them for their bravery to come forward.”
George Clooney, in an interview with the
Daily Beast. Here’s one excerpt:
“It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with. Harvey’s admitted to it, and it’s indefensible. I’ve known Harvey for 20 years. He gave me my first big break as an actor in films on
From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior—ever.”
Jessica Chastain, on
Twitter.
“I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an enviornment for it to happen again.”
Kate Winslet, to
Variety. An excerpt of her long statement:
“The fact that these women are starting to speak out about the gross misconduct of one of our most important and well regarded film producers, is incredibly brave and has been deeply shocking to hear. The way Harvey Weinstein has treated these vulnerable, talented young women is NOT the way women should ever EVER deem to be acceptable or commonplace in ANY workplace.”
Michael Keaton, on
Twitter:
“H Weinstein -yikes! Disgusting and creepy. So is ‘leader of the free world’ btw.”
Glenn Close, in a statement to
The New York Times__. An excerpt:
“I’m sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women. Harvey has always been decent to me, but now that the rumors are being substantiated, I feel angry and darkly sad.
I’m angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the ‘casting couch’ phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job.”
Dame Judi Dench, in a statement to
Newsweek:
“Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offenses which are, of course, horrifying, and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out.”
Meryl Streep, to the
Huffington Post. An excerpt:
“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.”
Mark Ruffalo, on
Twitter:
“To be clear what Harvey Weinstein did was a disgusting abuse of power and horrible. I hope we are now seeing the beginning of the end of these abuses.”
Julianne Moore, in
two tweets:
“1. Coming forward about sexual abuse and coercion is scary and women have nothing to be gained personally by doing so.”
“2. But through their bravery we move forward as a culture, and I thank them. Stand with @AshleyJudd @rosemcgowan and others.”
Mindy Kaling, on
Twitter:
“There is no incentive for women in Hollywood to come forward to tell lies of a powerful producer sexually harassing them. I believe them.”
Lena Dunham, in an essay for the
Times titled “Harvey Weinstein and the Silence of the Men:”
“This past week, reports that Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed women for years came to light, making it crystal clear that not every woman in Hollywood has had the chance to walk our path. Abuse, threats and coercion have been the norm for so many women trying to do business or make art. Mr. Weinstein may be the most powerful man in Hollywood to be revealed as a predator, but he’s certainly not the only one who has been allowed to run wild. His behavior, silently co-signed for decades by employees and collaborators, is a microcosm of what has been happening in Hollywood since always and of what workplace harassment looks like for women everywhere.”
Kevin Smith, in response to a question on
Twitter:
“He financed the first 14 years of my career - and now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, on
Twitter:
“I’m as appalled and repulsed by the Weinstein news as anyone with a beating heart. And forever in awe of the bravery of those who spoke out.”