French Media Say Harvey Weinstein Hosted Sex Parties
Multimillionaire Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women in the U.S., reportedly hosted drug-fueled sex parties, according to accounts in French media.
The movie mogul is under investigation by the New York Police Department and London authorities for alleged sexual assault. In recent weeks, The New York Times and The New Yorker published pieces on his reportedly predatory behavior.
But in France, the producer recognized as one of the richest men in Hollywood was known in Cannes for his wild parties featuring orgies and cocaine, a film industry source told Le Parisien. "Each year, he hosted parties with orgies and cocaine. Harvey even had a widely talked about nickname: the Pig," the source tells the newspaper.
Weinstein often frequented Cannes and attended its international film festival, where his movies from Pulp Fiction and The Artist won big. The festival released a statement this week signed by the festival's presidents, Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux, after the allegations surfaced. They said they were dismayed to learn about the accusations against Weinstein.
“These actions point to a pattern of behavior that merits only the clearest and most unequivocal condemnations,” the statement, obtained by The New York Times, said. “Our thoughts go to the victims.”
Actress after actress has come forward to share stories of the harassment they allegedly endured at the hands of Weinstein. Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie are the latest big-name celebrities to say that Weinstein harassed them. Jolie told the Times that she had a “very bad experience with Harvey” in her youth that led her to never work with him again.
Paltrow said that at age 22 Weinstein hired her for a part in the movie Emma. One day, Paltrow told the Times, Weinstein inviting her up to his hotel suite, where he suggested giving her a massage.
Paltrow’s story shares similarities with other actresses' accounts about Weinstein’s behavior.
French actress Léa Seydoux, known for her role in Blue Is the Warmest Color, told The Guardian that she had “forcefully resist” Weinstein when he tried to kiss her after inviting her up to his hotel room for a drink. His assistant left the two of them alone, she said, and that’s when he changed and “started losing control.”
“I had to defend myself. He’s big and fat, so I had to be forceful to resist him,” she said in the interview. “I left his room, thoroughly disgusted.”
Weinstein recently flew to a rehab center in Arizona for sex addiction treatment.
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