A 1998 interview in which Gwyneth Paltrow referred to Harvey Weinstein as a ‘coercer’ has resurfaced online, just days after she revealed how the shamed movie mogul sexually propositioned her when she was 22.
Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman the star – then 26-years-old – told the host she should have already been in California with her family for Thanksgiving celebrations, but had been persuaded to appear on TV instead.
When asked if someone had ‘coerced’ her to be there, she laughed and asked the host. ‘Do you count Harvey Weinstein as a coercer?’
She added: ‘I do all my movies for Harvey Weinstein, that’s Miramax for all of you. And I’m lucky to do them there, but he will coerce you to do things.’
The uncomfortable footage has resurfaced in the wake of the star’s allegations that she too had been victim to Weinstein’s sexual misconduct when she was 22.
In light of allegations by at least 30 women including Gwyneth, the shamed mogul has now flown to an exclusive rehab clinic in Arizona,The Meadows, which costs upwards of $40,000 a month and where former patients include Tiger Woods.
As he left his daughter’s home in LA to board his private jet, the clearly agitated disgraced movie mogul, who looked disheveled in a black T-shirt and loose jeans, told reporters: ‘Guys, I’m not doing OK but I’m trying. I gotta get help. I’m hanging in, I’m trying my best.’
In a 1998 interview with David Letterman, Gwyneth Paltrow suggested that Harvey Weinstein had ‘coerced’ her to appear on the show rather than flying to California for Thanksgiving
The Shakespeare in Love star this week claimed that Harvey Weinstein made sexual advances towards her in a hotel room when she was 22-years-old which, though petrified, she refused
Harvey Weinstein told photographers outside his daughter’s Los Angeles home on Wednesday that the’s ‘not doing OK’ and that he was hoping for a ‘second chance’
Gwyneth’s interview with Letterman was filmed at the height of her fame as the star of hit such as Shakespeare In Love and Sliding Doors – four years after Weinstein allegedly propositioned her.
Earlier this week, in an interview with the New York Times, she revealed that Weinstein had 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.
Afterwards, she confided in her then boyfriend Brad Pitt who 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 Letterman footage, the host asked Gwyneth what she would get in return for bowing to Harvey’s demands to go out and promote her film instead of joining her family for Thanksgiving and the actress insisted: ‘Nothing’.
‘Well, what’s wrong with that equation?’ he replied. ‘As the kids say, you do the math. I’m kind of fed up with Harvey’s behaviour.’
Weinstein has found himself isolated and alone as the sexual assault allegations have piled up, leading him to complain that he has been abandoned by his Tinsel Town friends
Harvey Weinstein gave a resounding f*** you to the world as he was seen out in LA at his lawyer’s offices
In her New York Times interview on Tuesday, Paltrow told how she feared losing 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’.
After Pitt confronted Weinstein, the mogul phoned Paltrow and allegedly told her to never mention it to anyone else.
The star joked about producer Weinstein being a ‘coercer’ but the footage makes for uncomfortable viewing in the wake of allegations against the shamed movie mogul
Gwyneth with Hilary Clinton and Harvey Weinstein at the premiere of Shakespeare In Love
The star won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love after starring in a string of Weinstein company films
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.
Gwyneth appeared friendly with Harvey over the years, and said that he could be both ‘supportive and championing’ as well as bullying