Actress Paz De La Huerta Says Harvey Weinstein Raped Her Twice
“Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta has said producer Harvey Weinstein raped her on two separate occasions.
In an account that a distressing similarity to those of the dozens of women who’ve accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, de la Huerta said the former studio executive forced himself on her in October 2010 after offering to drive her home following a night out. Back at de la Huerta’s New York City apartment, she said, Weinstein removed her dress and raped her.
“Immediately when we got inside the house, he started to kiss me and I kind of brushed [him] away,” the actress told Vanity Fair. “Then he pushed me onto the bed and his pants were down and he lifted up my skirt. I felt afraid ... It wasn’t consensual ... It happened very quickly ... He stuck himself inside me ... When he was done he said he’d be calling me. I kind of just laid on the bed in shock.”
After the incident, de la Huerta said Weinstein repeatedly tried to contact her by phone, prompting the actress to confront him at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles.
She said the second incident occurred about a month later at her home, after Weinstein showed up in the lobby of her building following a photo shoot. De la Huerta recalled being intoxicated that evening and unable to give consent.
“I was in no state. I was so terrified of him,” she told the outlet. “I did say no, and when he was on top of me I said, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ He kept humping me and it was disgusting. He’s like a pig ... He raped me.”
De la Huerta first met Weinstein when she was only 14 years old, having been cast in “The Cider House Rules,” which was produced by Miramax, the company Weinstein helped run at the time. The actress is likely best known for her role as Lucy Danziger, the one-time girlfriend to Steve Buscemi’s character on the HBO gangster saga “Boardwalk Empire,” which premiered a year prior to the first alleged rape.
De la Huerta said the assault put her down a dangerous path, damaging her career as she experienced depression and developed a dependence on alcohol.
“I was very traumatized,” she said. “I felt so disgusted by it, with myself ... I became a little self-destructive. It was really hard for me to deal, to cope.”
Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex made against him in the wake of multiple damning reports by The New York Times and The New Yorker, which detailed decades of abuse. More than 50 other women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, leading to his firing at The Weinstein Company and expulsion from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
While no criminal charges have been brought against Weinstein, HuffPost confirmed in October with the New York Police Department that it is looking into another report of sexual assault against the former executive, from 2004. The NYPD is also investigating de la Huerta’s claims in conjunction with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
“We are aware of the sexual assault complaints,” the NYPD told CBS News in a statement. “We are actively investigating them. The NYPD continues to work with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on the case. The investigation is ongoing.”
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Ashley Judd
She told the Times that she thought, “How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?”
Gwyneth Paltrow
“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” she said, noting that when Weinstein found out she told her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt, "I thought he was going to fire me."
Angelina Jolie
Kate Winslet
"I had hoped that these kind of stories were just made up rumours, maybe we have all been naïve," she said. "And it makes me so angry. There must be ‘no tolerance’ of this degrading, vile treatment of women in ANY workplace anywhere in the world.”
Meryl Streep
“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported," she said in a statement.
Rose McGowan
After The Weinstein Company fired Harvey, the actress and director called on the rest of the studio's board to resign.
"They knew," she said in a tweet. "They funded. They advised. They covered up. They must be exposed. They must resign."
Ben Affleck
Actress Rose McGowan denounced Affleck for implying that he didn't know of the abuse before this week, saying that the pair had previously discussed Weinstein's treatment of her.
"You lie," she tweeted.
Lena Dunham
"Abuse, threats and coercion have been the norm for so many women trying to do business or make art," she wrote. "Mr. Weinstein may be the most powerful man in Hollywood to be revealed as a predator, but he’s certainly not the only one who has been allowed to run wild. His behavior, silently co-signed for decades by employees and collaborators, is a microcosm of what has been happening in Hollywood since always and of what workplace harassment looks like for women everywhere."
George Clooney
"A good bunch of people that I know would say, “Yeah, Harvey’s a dog” or “Harvey’s chasing girls,” but again, this is a very different kind of thing," the actor told the Daily Beast. "This is harassment on a very high level. And there’s an argument that everyone is complicit in it. I suppose the argument would be that it’s not just about Hollywood, but about all of us—that every time you see someone using their power and influence to take advantage of someone without power and influence and you don’t speak up, you’re complicit. And there’s no question about that."
Jennifer Lawrence
"I worked with Harvey five years ago, and I did not experience any form of harassment personally, nor did I know about any of these allegations. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting," Lawrence said in a statement. "My heart goes out to all of the women affected by these gross actions. And I want to thank them for their bravery to come forward."
Hillary Clinton
Clinton said that she "was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein. The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior."
Barack and Michelle Obama
"Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein," the Obamas said in a statement. "Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status. We should celebrate the courage of women who have come forward to tell these painful stories. And we all need to build a culture -- including by empowering our girls and teaching our boys decency and respect -- so we can make such behavior less prevalent in the future."
Judi Dench
"Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offenses which are, of course, horrifying and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and whole-hearted support to those who have spoken out," she said in a statement.
Leonardo DiCaprio
"There is no excuse for sexual harrassment or sexual assault-- no matter who you are and no matter what profession," DiCarpio said in a Facebook Post. "I applaud the strength and courage of the women who came forward and made their voices heard."
Jessica Chastain
"I was warned from the beginning" about Weinstein, she said in a tweet. "The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an environment for it to happen again."
Julianne Moore
Colin Firth
“It must have been terrifying for these women to step up and call him out. And horrifying to be subjected to that kind of harassment. I applaud their courage."
Tamron Hall
Blake Lively
The actress said that she was unaware of the abuse but admitted that "it's devastating to hear."
"It's important that women are furious right now. It's important that there is an uprising. It's important that we don't stand for this and that we don't focus on one or two or three or four stories. It's important that we focus on humanity in general and say, 'This is unacceptable.'"
Julia Roberts
Ryan Gosling
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
