British Actress Shares Experience With Harvey Weinstein: ‘It Was an Abuse of Power’
British actress Romola Garai has added another story to the mounting pile of accusations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein, claiming that the Hollywood producer had her privately audition for him in a hotel room while he wore nothing but a bathrobe.
“Like every other woman in the industry, I’ve had an ‘audition’ with Harvey Weinstein, where I’d actually already had the audition but you had to be personally approved by him,” said Garai. “So I had to go to his hotel room in the Savoy, and he answered the door in his bathrobe. I was only 18. I felt violated by it, it has stayed very clearly in my memory.”
Garai, who has starred in films like”Atonement” and “Suffragette,” said that during the encounter all she had to do was sit in a chair and discuss film with Weinstein, but the encounter nonetheless left her feeling “violated.”
“The transaction was just that I was there,” said Garai. “The point was that he could get a young woman to do that, that I didn’t have a choice, that it was humiliating for me and that he had the power. It was an abuse of power.”
Weinstein was fired from the Weinstein Co. on Sunday after a New York Times expose brought to light accounts of sexual misconduct with women and that Weinstein had settled at least eight claims. The list of victims includes dozens of former a current employees and celebrities, including actress Ashley Judd.
Celebrities like Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Judi Dench, Glenn Close, and Kevin Smith are among those who have spoken out against Weinstein.
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