Brie Larson and Judd Apatow have become the biggest names to speak out in response to the sexual harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein as many Hollywood elites have remained relatively quiet.
An investigation by The New York Times claimed on Thursday that Weinstein repeatedly sexually harassed a number of female employees and movie stars over the course of his three-decade career as one of Hollywood’s most celebrated studio heads.
‘As always, I stand with the brave survivors of sexual assault and harassment. It’s not your fault. I believe you,’ Larson tweeted in response to the bombshell allegations without mentioning Weinstein by name.
Brie Larson and Judd Apatow have become the biggest names to speak out in response to the sexual harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein as many Hollywood elites have remained relatively quiet
Just an hour before, Hollywood director and actor, Judd Apatow tweeted at a Times reporter, without mentioning Weinstein by name: ‘Wealthy people buy silence with settlements. The confidentiality clause allows predators to hurt other people. For decades’
Apatow then followed that up with: ‘People with money pay off the people they hurt. Like Trump did with Trump U and like Cosby. If you accept the cash they keep doing it’
Larson and Apatow (right) took to Twitter following the Weinstein allegations
But several Hollywood elites have skirted around the issue with some stars who have worked with Weinstein (pictured leaving his New York office) retweeting the New York Times article or others who have condemned Weinstein publicly
Just an hour before, Hollywood director and actor, Judd Apatow tweeted at a Times reporter, without mentioning Weinstein by name: ‘Wealthy people buy silence with settlements. The confidentiality clause allows predators to hurt other people. For decades.’
Apatow then followed that up with: ‘People with money pay off the people they hurt. Like Trump did with Trump U and like Cosby. If you accept the cash they keep doing it.’
Lena Dunham also tweeted after the report was published: ‘The women who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe. It’s not fun or easy. It’s brave.’
But several Hollywood elites have skirted around the issue with some stars who have worked with Weinstein retweeting the New York Times article or others who have condemned Weinstein publicly.
And filmmaker Scott Dickerson seems to believe that Hollywood elites will remain silent on the issue.
‘I expect the Hollywood elite will remain largely silent about Weinstein. Me, I give zero f**ks about any repercussions for condemning him,’ Dickerson tweeted Thursday afternoon.
And filmmaker Scott Dickerson seems to believe that Hollywood elites will remain silent on the issue
Actress Heather Matarazzo wrote that the truth is ‘women, myself included, would be much more ready to call out their experiences in this industry if we knew that we would be taken care of’
Actress Heather Matarazzo wrote that the truth is ‘women, myself included, would be much more ready to call out their experiences in this industry if we knew that we would be taken care of’.
Matarazzo didn’t mention Weinstein by name, like several others, but she continued: ‘But we don’t. If we knew that men/women in the industry who claim to be “feminists” and are in positions of power would guarantee that they wouldn’t shut their doors, and in fact would open them even wider who are willing to speak their truth.’
The shocking Times report alleged that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills and paid $100,000 to Rose McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film ‘Scream.’
That settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years, with Italian model Ambra Battilana also getting an undisclosed sum in 2015 after accusing the Hollywood executive of groping her and putting his hand under her skirt.
It was also inside his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where Weinsten allegedly stripped naked and forced a female employee to give a massage.
Lena Dunham also tweeted after the report was published: ‘The women who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe. It’s not fun or easy. It’s brave’
Weinstein initially did not deny any of the explosive claims reported by the Times, saying: ‘I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.’
He added that he is now taking a leave of absence from the company to ‘deal with this issue head on’.
Judd recounted her encounter with Weinstein, saying she was doing night shoots for her 1997 film ‘Kiss the Girls’ when she got an invite to meet with Weinsten that she could not pass up.
She said she felt uncomfortable from the start and ordered cereal from room service because it would arrive quicker than a hot meal.
Judd said she was asked to give Weinstein a massage and then a shoulder rub, both of which she declined while trying to get herself out of the room.
The shocking Times report claimed that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills
Weinstein paid Rose McGowan (right in 2007) $100,000 and invited Ashley Judd (left in 2015) to his hotel room for a meeting and then asked if she would watch him shower, according to the Times report
NDA: McGowan did take to social media after the report was released, but did not name any names (above)
That is when he asked her to help him pick out his clothes for the day and then watch him shower.
‘I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,’ said Judd.
‘It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.’
She eventually made her escape by joking that Weinstein would have to help her win an Oscar before she would be willing to touch him, stating that the prestige of working for his studio made it too difficult to forcefully shut down his harassment.
‘There’s a lot on the line, the cachet that came with Miramax,’ explained Judd.
Weinstein later denied parts of Judd’s story, part of the reason he has chose to sue the Time according to a statement from his attorney Charles Harder.
‘The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein,’ said Harder in a statement.
‘It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by 9 different eyewitnesses.’
Harder went on to say: ‘We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women’s organizations.’