America’s Got Talent judge Heidi Klum is speaking out about Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein who is accused of sexually assaulting and harassing a number of women.
The 44-year-old supermodel penned a statement given to People magazine on Thursday in which she blasted Weinstein and addressed a larger issue of mistreatment of women across the world. Weinstein was a producer on Project Runway, which Klum stars in as a judge.
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“I truly admire these brave women who are coming forward to share their stories because change cannot come unless there is a dialogue and people are held accountable,” Klum said.
“I wish I could say that the horrible stories I read about Harvey Weinstein are a rare occurrence in our society, but that is simply not the case. We would be naive to think that this behavior only happens in Hollywood,” she continued.
Klum is one of many Hollywood A-listers that have come forward to condemn Weinstein. Other celebrities to speak out about the issue include Meryl Streep, Jessica Chastain, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale, Cara Delevingne, and Mark Ruffalo.
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“This is one example of the more pervasive problem of the mistreatment of women around the world. I think it would be hard to find a woman — myself included — who have not had an experience where they have felt intimidated or threatened by a man using his power, position or his physical stature,” Klum wrote.
The accusations against Weinstein were first revealed in an exposé published by The New York Times, in which decades of alleged harassment by the movie mogue were uncovered.
In a lengthy statement to the Times, Weinstein wrote that he “came of age in the ’60s and ’70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then. I have since learned it’s not an excuse, in the office — or out of it. To anyone… I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.”
