Gwyneth Paltrow: Harvey Weinstein Lied About Having Sex With Me To Lure Women
UPDATE ― Monday, Dec. 11: Harvey Weinstein is denying that he ever lied that he had sex with actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron and Renée Zellweger, according to a statement from the movie producer’s spokeswoman.
The statement comes one week after Paltrow accused Weinstein in The New York Times of falsely telling others that she had sex with him.
Holly Baird, Weinstein’s spokeswoman, called Paltrow’s claims “ridiculous”:
Mr. Weinstein vehemently denies these accusations and has never stated he slept with any of them
It’s ridiculous that anyone would believe these talented women, academy award winners, provided sexual favors in exchange for roles they earned based on their talent and brilliant work. It’s simply not true.
Previously:
It has been two decades since Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly turned down Harvey Weinstein’s offer for a massage, but the actress only recently learned that the disgraced film producer had been using her name in a lie to lure other women into his bed.
Paltrow told The New York Times that she found out Weinstein had been boasting to others that he had slept with her, hoping to convince other women to accept his sexual advances. The new information was revealed in a Times report published Tuesday that outlines how accusations of abuse were covered up in recent years.
“He’s not the first person to lie about sleeping with someone, but he used the lie as an assault weapon,” Paltrow told the newspaper.
Weinstein’s career in Hollywood was destroyed after the Times and The New Yorker published scathing reports accusing him of intimidating, sexually harassing, abusing and raping women for decades. In many of the alleged incidents, women said that Weinstein invited them into his hotel room under the guise of a professional meeting, but then asked them for massages or sex.
Some of his accusers said Weinstein began masturbating or showering in front of them. Others, including actresses Asia Argento and Paz de la Huerta, said he raped them.
This is the list of all the 82 women who were sexually assaulted/raped/molested by #HarveyWeinstein. We,the victims, have compiled this list pic.twitter.com/eReShhtme8
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) October 28, 2017
In Paltrow’s case, she was 22 and in Weinstein’s Beverly Hills hotel room for a meeting when he put his hands on her and invited her to go to the bedroom for massages, according to a Times story published in October.
Paltrow said no and later told her boyfriend at the time, Brad Pitt, who went on to confront Weinstein ― a move that she says prompted Weinstein to scold the actress. Paltrow told her agent at the Creative Artists Agency of the encounter, though the agent did not encourage her to report it to the company’s leaders, according to the Times.
She won an Oscar in 1999 ― her only Academy Award ― for her role in “Shakespeare in Love,” produced by Weinstein’s Miramax studio.
Paltrow, now 45, says she is just now learning how Weinstein lied about his encounter with her to manipulate others. The actress recently connected with some women who said that Weinstein used her name during “disturbing encounters,” the Times reported.
In one instance, according to the paper, Weinstein dropped Paltrow’s name while talking to a young actress in 2000. He reportedly told her that complying with his requests was “the best thing you can do for your career now.”
Another woman, who claims Weinstein assaulted her in 2004, said she remembered seeing a photo of Paltrow in the producer’s room, according to the Times.
Dozens of women have publicly accused Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and harassment, including high-profile actresses and his former employees. In the fallout, the once-acclaimed producer has been ousted from his own production company, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America.
The New York Police Department is investigating Paz de la Huerta’s rape accusation against Weinstein, and police said earlier this month that he may be arrested. Police in Los Angeles and London are also investigating assault allegations made against the producer.
Also on HuffPost
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
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
