Minka Kelly Shares ‘Gross’ Harvey Weinstein Story, ‘Sorry’ for Staying Silent So Long

The Wrap

Former “Parenthood” star Minka Kelly is among the latest in a growing group of women speaking up about being the target of alleged sexual misconduct by disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Here is what she shared on Instagram on Friday:

“I met Harvey at an industry party. The following day, my agent said he wanted to see me for a general meeting. The location was set for his hotel room. I wasn’t comfortable with going to his room & said so. The following day, we sat down with an assistant in the hotel restaurant. He bullsh-t me for 5 minutes re: movies he could put me in, then asked the assistant to excuse us. As she walked away, he said, ‘I know you were feeling what I was feeling when we met the other night’ and then regaled me with offers of a lavish life filled with trips around the world on private planes etc. IF I would be his girlfriend. Or, ‘We could just keep this professional.’ All I knew was not to offend this very powerful man and to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. I told him while flattered, I’d like to keep things professional. He said ‘Fine. I trust you won’t tell anyone about this.’ I said ‘Of course not. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me,’ – the only way I could think to shut it down gracefully and excuse myself.”

Kelly continued, “I immediately told my agent what happened. We marveled at his audacity, reinforced my instinct not to offend him & laughed at how glad I was to get out of there. Neither of us were that surprised as this wasn’t far off from the day-to-day bulls–t of being an actress.”

Also Read:Holly Hunter 'Infuriated' by Harvey Weinstein Reports: 'The Destruction Is Deep and Lasting'

Kelly went on to apologize for “protecting his behavior” by remaining silent about the encounter.

“I’m sorry for obliging his orders to be complicit in protecting his behavior, which he obviously knew was wrong or he wouldn’t have asked me not to tell anyone in the first place,” Kelly wrote. “For making him feel ok about the gross things he was saying and that I felt my only route was to say I was flattered. For not insisting that my reps never allow anyone to take a meeting in a hotel room (with him or anyone else), because I honestly don’t know what might have happened if I’d just showed up as originally scheduled. I am appalled for all the women being told these occurrences are in any way their fault. No more Harvey Weinstein in Hollywood does not solve the problem but maybe the more voices sharing their stories and adding support to the countless women and men who have suffered through abuse of power, the less it will be tolerated.”

Weinstein has been mired in scandal since last week, when an explosive article in the New York Times reported that he engaged in sexual harassment and misconduct for decades and reached settlements with eight women.

Also Read:Quentin Tarantino 'Heartbroken' by Harvey Weinstein Scandal

A subsequent article in The New Yorker detailed the claims of multiple accusers, which also included multiple allegations of rape.

Since then, a number of women have come forward to detail Weinstein’s inappropriate behavior toward them, including Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan and Gwyneth Paltrow.

On Sunday, Weinstein was fired from his company.

Also Read:Oliver Stone's Defense of Harvey Weinstein Sparks Anger, Accusations

In a statement to The New Yorker, a spokesperson for the disgraced film mogul said, “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”

 

I met Harvey at an industry party. The following day, my agent said he wanted to see me for a general meeting. The location was set for his hotel room. I wasn’t comfortable with going to his room & said so. The following day, we sat down with an assistant in the hotel restaurant. He bullshit me for 5 minutes re: movies he could put me in, then asked the assistant to excuse us. As she walked away, he said, "I know you were feeling what I was feeling when we met the other night” and then regaled me with offers of a lavish life filled with trips around the world on private planes etc. IF I would be his girlfriend. Or, “We could just keep this professional.” All I knew was not to offend this very powerful man and to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. I told him while flattered, I'd like to keep things professional. He said “Fine. I trust you won't tell anyone about this.” I said “Of course not. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me,” – the only way I could think to shut it down gracefully and excuse myself. I immediately told my agent what happened. We marveled at his audacity, reinforced my instinct not to offend him & laughed at how glad I was to get out of there. Neither of us were that surprised as this wasn’t far off from the day-to-day bullshit of being an actress. I'm sorry for obliging his orders to be complicit in protecting his behavior, which he obviously knew was wrong or he wouldn’t have asked me not to tell anyone in the first place. For making him feel ok about the gross things he was saying and that I felt my only route was to say I was flattered. For not insisting that my reps never allow anyone to take a meeting in a hotel room (with him or anyone else), because I honestly don’t know what might have happened if I’d just showed up as originally scheduled. I am appalled for all the women being told these occurrences are in any way their fault. No more Harvey Weinstein in Hollywood does not solve the problem but maybe the more voices sharing their stories and adding support to the countless women and men who have suffered through abuse of power, the less it will be tolerated.

A post shared by Minka Kelly (@minkakelly) on Oct 13, 2017 at 8:03am PDT

 

 

 

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