Tom Hanks Slams Harvey Weinstein As More Sexual Harassment Accusations Are Made

Tom Hanks has given his damning verdict on Harvey Weinstein, explaining how he sees the current state of things as “a watershed moment”.

The actor, who is on the board that voted to expel Weinstein from the Academy, is the latest in a long line of A-listers who have condemned the movie mogul.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: “This is a sea of change.

“His last name will become a noun and a verb. It will become an identifying moniker for a state of being for which there was a before and an after.”

Turning his attention to what should happen next, the ‘Castaway’ star continued: “There is going to be, righteously, a pause in the discussion for the women to be heard.

“We need to listen to everyone who has been a victim, to give them a full-throated opportunity to speak as specifically as they feel comfortable doing and the people in power - the bosses - have to take note of what the new rules are and they have to follow them.

“I’m trying to think of a worse word to use than predator and I don’t think there is in this circumstance.” 

“I think there should be a code of ethics posted in every lunchroom of every company on the planet that says here is the behaviour that is expected of you as an employee of this company.”

His comments came as Lupita Nyong’o became the latest actress to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct, writing an op-ed in the New York Times to describe a series of incidents that took place when she was still a student hoping to break into the industry. 

On Wednesday (18 October), ‘Game Of Thrones’ Lena Headey also became one of them when she detailed two separate encounters in a Twitter post. 

The number of women who have shared their stories is now over 35.

While Weinstein has apologised for some of his behaviour, he “unequivocally denies” all allegations of non-consensual sex.