Jennifer Lawrence and George Clooney are two of the A-list stars to have collaborated with Harvey Weinstein in the past who have now spoken out against the Hollywood producer, following the accusations of sexual abuse levelled against him.
Since the news broke of his alleged misconduct last week, Weinstein has been fired by his production company, and slammed by Oscar winner Meryl Streep in an exclusive statement issued to HuffPost.
Following Meryl’s comments, a number of other stars have addressed the issue, including Jennifer Lawrence, who worked with Weinstein on ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, for which she bagged an Academy Award, even thanking him by name in her acceptance speech.
Speaking to People magazine, she insisted she had previously been unaware of the allegations against him, and had been “deeply disturbed” by the news.
Similarly, after many pointed out the double standards being put on women to speak out, George Clooney added his voice to the discussion.
George claimed that while he had heard rumours of “certain actresses… sleeping with Harvey to get a role”, he “took those rumors with a grain of salt” as he felt they were demeaning to the actresses in question.
He told the Daily Beast: “The part we’re hearing now about eight women being paid off, I didn’t hear anything about that and I don’t know anyone that did.
George continued: “Hopefully, this kind of behavior will end—or become harder and harder for it to continue.
Prior to this, Glenn Close penned a lengthy statement to the New York Times, in which she said she was “angry… not just at [Harvey Weinstein] 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”.
Acknowledging that she had been aware of “vague rumors” about Weinstein’s “pattern of behaving inappropriately around women”, Glenn ended her statement with a call for change “both institutional and personal” to help “create a new culture of respect, equality and empowerment”.
Praising the “incredibly brave” women who have come forward, Kate Winslet told Variety: “I have no doubt that for these women this time has been, and continues to be extremely traumatic.
Other big names have addressed the matter on their social media pages, including Julianne Moore, film and TV producer Judd Apatow and Susan Sarandon.
Meanwhile, on Monday night (9 October), The Guardian published a list of 20 male Hollywood stars they have contacted for comment about the Weinstein allegations, including Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper and Leonardo DiCaprio, none of whom had replied at their time of publication.
Weinstein has faced a string of sexual assault and sexual harassment accusations, but has “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual relationships.