Ashley Judd Says Playing Herself, Naming Harvey Weinstein in She Said Was 'Validating'

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd says she didn't struggle with the decision to appear as herself in the upcoming film She Said, which surrounds the New York Times investigation into Harvey Weinstein.

On Thursday, Judd, 54, received a standing ovation when she appeared alongside other Weinstein accusers after the world premiere of She Said at the New York Film Festival, according to USA TODAY.

"It was very validating when someone finally wanted to listen and do something about it. And the film was the next step in that," she said at a post-screening Q&A.

Judd, who was one of the women who spoke on the record to the Times in 2017 when the newspaper broke the Weinstein sexual assault story, started the Q&A session by saying she wanted to "acknowledge my sisters and thank them for their courage."

"I just remember when I was speaking with my mother about this, she said, 'Oh, go get 'em, honey,' " Judd said at the event, referencing her late mother Naomi Judd. "She was just enthralled by my audacity (to speak out), as I later heard from our friends."

Universal Pictures Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan in She Said (2022)

RELATED: Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan Play Reporters Who Broke Harvey Weinstein Story in She Said Trailer

In She Said, Judd appears as herself in two pivotal scenes: In one, she recounts to Times reporter Jodi Kantor (played by Zoe Kazan) her experience of Weinstein sexually harassing her around the time of 1997's Kiss The Girls, and in a later scene, the film documents when she agrees to be named in the Times investigation.

"It's so important to be in our truth and to have our righteousness in our story," said Judd at the Q&A of going on the record. "So it was a really simple thing for me to do and I was very grateful for the opportunity."

Judd and Kazan also praised changes they've seen in the film industry in the wake of the #MeToo movement, according to USA TODAY.

"I have reframed experiences that I have had to understand that they were in fact harassment and assault, when I had previously minimized them," said Judd at the premiere.

Directed by Maria Schrader, She Said is based on the Times reporters Kantor and Meghan Twohey's 2019 book of the same name, with Kazan playing Kantor and Carey Mulligan portraying Twohey.

Twohey and Kantor's reporting won a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for "explosive, impactful journalism that exposed powerful and wealthy sexual predators, including allegations against one of Hollywood's most influential producers, bringing them to account for long-suppressed allegations of coercion, brutality and victim silencing, thus spurring a worldwide reckoning about sexual abuse of women."

Andreas Rentz/Getty Harvey Weinstein

RELATED: Wynonna Judd Addresses Rumors She's 'Fighting' with Sister Ashley Judd Over Mom Naomi's Estate

Weinstein, 70, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after a jury found him guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, stemming from assaults in 2006 and 2013.

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The disgraced movie mogul is also awaiting trial in Los Angeles, where he faces more sexual assault allegations, and British authorities have charged Weinstein with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London.

She Said is in theaters Nov. 18.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.