Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebrities who accuse Harvey Weinstein of harassment in the scandal that shocks Hollywood
Far from fading, the accusations against the powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein continue to multiply.
To the list of actresses and assistants who claim to have been sexually harassed by Weinstein in recent decades, the names of two great celebrities were added this Tuesday: Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.
"If Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow are among Weinstein's victims, then this is just the beginning. The list is going to be huge," wrote The New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor on Twitter.
That is the feeling that spreads in Hollywood, while the voices that condemn the behavior of whoever was, until last Sunday, president of the film studio The Weinstein Company, of which he is a co-founder, increase.
Former US President Barack Obama issued a statement saying that both he and his wife, Michelle, are "disgusted" by the reports on Harvey Weinstein and praise the bravery of the women who have denounced the abuse.
In the throes of turmoil, the producer's wife, designer Georgina Chapman, told People magazine that she has decided to divorce her.
The publication quotes Chapman as saying, "My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered enormous pain from these unforgivable actions." Chapman and Weinstein have two young children.
Personal testimonials
The American magazine The New Yorker published an exhaustive report on Tuesday in which several women detailed the abuses they suffered by Weinstein.
The stories are spread over time: some of the situations occurred in the 1990s but other cases are as recent as 2015.
The New Yorker article, the product of a 10-month investigation carried out by journalist Ronan Farrow, adds to the information published on October 5 by The New York Times where it was said that Weinstein reached agreements with eight women so that the harassment allegations did not come to light.
Although they did not participate in either of the two reports, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow decided to share their own experiences on Tuesday.
Jolie told The New York Times that Weinstein made inappropriate advances toward her in a hotel room. The actress and film director rejected it.
"I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, I decided to never work with him again and to alert other women when they did," Jolie noted.
For her part, Gwyneth Paltrow described an unpleasant encounter with Weinstein when she was 22, also in a hotel room, which she later discussed with her then-boyfriend, Brad Pitt.
Pitt apparently confronted Weinstein, who threatened to retaliate against the actress, something that ultimately did not happen.
Work retaliation
It was precisely the fear of retaliation from such a powerful man that kept so many women silent until now.
Unlike what actresses such as Meryl Streep or Judi Dench declared on Monday, who said they had not known anything, others such as Kate Winslet or Jessica Chastain have acknowledged that Weinstein's behavior was an open secret.
"I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an environment conducive to it happening again," Chastain wrote on Twitter.
In The New Yorker report, actresses Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette accurately detail how they were harassed by Weinstein and both claim that his careers were affected by these events.
Through his spokeswoman, Weinstein denies taking any retaliatory action against the women who rejected him.
Sorvino told Farrow that Weinstein tried to have a relationship with her and even showed up one night at her house. The actress managed to make him leave by telling him that she was waiting for her (imaginary) boyfriend of hers.
The actress added that she did not speak before because she felt their encounter was "mild compared to other women's experiences."
And she added: "I have great respect for Harvey as an artist, and I owe him and his brother a debt of gratitude for early success in my career, including the Oscar."
Although she appeared in other Weinstein-produced films after that, Sorvino says she believes that turning down the producer and telling a Miramax employee what happened hurt her career.
"There may have been other factors, but I certainly felt relegated and I think my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it."
Rape accusations
The testimonies known so far mainly speak of situations of harassment and inappropriate exposure of the producer, who received the young actresses in dressing gowns and asked them to give him massages.
Such was the case of actress Ashley Judd, one of the first to appear in The New York Times information.
However, some of the women report sexual assaults, such as Ambra Battilana Gutierrez and Asia Argento.
From the surroundings of Weinstein it is categorically denied that there were non-consensual sexual acts.
"Mr. Weinstein obviously cannot speak about anonymous allegations, but regarding any woman who has publicly accused him, Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual by both parties," his spokeswoman wrote in a statement.
"Weinstein has started to get advice, he has listened to the community and is looking for a better path. Weinstein hopes that if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance."
However, everything seems to indicate that the flow of accusations and condemnation reactions will not end here.
