Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebrities who accuse Harvey Weinstein of harassment in the scandal that shocks Hollywood
Far from fading away, the accusations against the powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein do not stop multiplying.
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 on 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," New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor wrote on Twitter.
That is the feeling that spreads in Hollywood, while the voices that condemn the behavior of who was, until last Sunday, president of the film studio The Weinstein Company, of which he is a co-founder, are increasing.
Former US President Barack Obama issued a statement saying he and his wife, Michelle, are "disgusted" by reports about Harvey Weinstein and praise the courage of women who have come forward.
In full turmoil, the producer's wife, designer Georgina Chapman, told People magazine that she has decided to divorce her.
The post 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 detail the abuse they suffered from Weinstein.
The stories stretch back in 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 accusations of harassment 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 turned him down.
"I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth and as a result I decided to never work with him again and alert other women when they did," Jolie said.
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.
Apparently, Pitt confronted Weinstein, who threatened to retaliate against the actress, something that ultimately did not happen.
Employment retaliation
It was precisely the fear of reprisals from such a powerful man that has kept so many women silent until now.
Unlike what actresses like Meryl Streep or Judi Dench declared on Monday, who said they had not known anything, others like 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 enviornment for it to happen again.
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) October 9, 2017
"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, the actresses Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette accurately detail how they were harassed by Weinstein and both assure that his careers were affected by these events.
Through his spokeswoman, Weinstein denies taking any retaliatory action toward the women who rejected him.
Sorvino told Farrow that Weinstein tried to have a relationship with her and even showed up at her house one night. The actress managed to make him leave by telling him that she was waiting for her boyfriend (imaginary of her) from her.
The actress added that she didn't speak out earlier because she felt her encounter was "mild compared to other women's experiences."
She added: "I have great respect for Harvey as an artist, and I owe him and his brother a debt of gratitude for their early career success, including the Oscar."
Although she appeared in other Weinstein-produced movies after that, Sorvino says she believes turning down the producer and telling a Miramax employee hurt her career.
"There may have been other factors, but I definitely felt left out and I think my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it."
Rape accusations
The testimonies known so far speak mainly of situations of harassment and inadequate exposure of the producer, who received the young actresses in a bathrobe and asked them to give him massages.
Such was the case of actress Ashley Judd, one of the first to appear in the information of The New York Times.
However, some of the women report sexual assaults, as is the case of Ambra Battilana Gutierrez and Asia Argento.
From Weinstein's environment, it is categorically denied that there were non-consensual sexual acts.
"Mr. Weinstein obviously cannot speak about anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have publicly accused him, Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual on both sides," his spokeswoman wrote in a statement.
"Weinstein has begun to receive advice, 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.
