A Brazilian model claims Harvey Weinstein chased her through his New York apartment while nude, and used broken glass to keep him from assaulting her.
In a Los Angeles Times story about how Weinstein would use his connections to the fashion world to get access to models, Juliana De Paula recalled the incident from 10 years ago.
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De Paula claims Weinstein groped her and made her kiss other models at his New York loft. She tried to leave, but he chased her around the apartment while naked. She found a piece of broken glass, which she used to keep him away from her.
“He looked at me and he started to laugh,” de Paula told the Los Angeles Times. “I was shocked. I was completely in disbelief.”
Although Weinstein is best known for being a producer in the film industry, he also had a presence in the New York fashion scene. His second wife, who is now leaving him, is British fashion designer Georgina Chapman. He was also a producer on Project Runway.
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The LA Times reports that Weinstein used these connections to get access to young models who were far from home. More than 10 models, including Zoe Brock, Cara Delevingne and Angie Everhart, have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault.
Brock told the paper she met Weinstein in 1998 in Cannes. They met at a restaurant, where they had champagne. They went to his hotel room together, where she claims Weinstein stood before her naked and asked for a massage. She avoided him by locking herself in the bathroom.
“Someone put me there next to him — that was on purpose. I am pretty sure that there are a lot of people that would like to sit next to Harvey Weinstein,” Brock told the Times. “So why was it me?”
Samantha Panagrosso said Weinstein touched her legs at a Cannes hotel pool in 2003, but rejected his advances. Her friends told her, “Sam, don’t be so naïve, you know Harvey can make you a star,” she told the Times.
Weinstein has “unequivocally denied” the allegations of nonconsensual sex. He is now in rehab in Arizona and has apologized for some of his actions.
“Their recollection of events differs from that of Mr. Weinstein,” Weinstein spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister said of BRock and Panagrosso’s stories.
Photo Credit: Getty / Alexander Koerner
