Anne Heche Claims Harvey Weinstein Fired Her for Not Performing Lewd Act
Anne Heche is joining the list of Harvey Weinsten's harassment victims.The actress claims that the [...]
Anne Heche is joining the list of Harvey Weinsten's harassment victims.
The actress claims that the disgraced film producer tried to get her to perform oral sex on him and when she said no, he fired her from a Miramax project.
The Brave star told a terrifying account to the podcast, Allegedly with Theo Vonn & Matthew Cole Weiss, revealing how she never spoke out about Weinstein because, "First of all, you were threatened the second you walk out the door" of his hotel room.
"I personally did not suck Harvey's d—, although he showed it to me and I got out of the room before there was any physical contact," she said. "The fact is, I was fired from a job I had been hired for in Miramax. The repercussions of standing up for yourself were as deep and targeted as some of the scars of the women who actually got more physically unfortunately involved."
She claimed that Harvey allegedly preyed on her when she was a young woman, fitting the pattern of his other accusers who say he allegedly victimized them when they were still up and coming actresses.
"That's why every one of us was 19, 20, 21 or 22. He didn't go after the 40-year-old woman," Heche said on the podcast. "He hits on me when I'm 19, 20, 21, 22, vulnerable, scared, frightened."
The NBC star then said that being a childhood sexual abuse survivor gave her the strength to say no to Weinstein.
"If I wasn't sexually abused as a child, I don't know if I would have had the strength to stand up to Harvey and many others," Heche explained.
In 2001, Heche wrote about the harrowing account of molestation she endured as a child in her memoir Call Me Crazy.
"The efforts he made to have people followed, have threats, he fired people. You're talking about girls, young actresses are very vulnerable. A lot of us come from hurt backgrounds," she said. "What happens when you come from a broken place, you don't have any guidance, you don't have support, a parent you can go to. And you certainly don't want to go to Harvey's partner and say this happened. You come to LA, you're alone, you don't have friends that you are being able to talk to and that's what he takes advantage of, that isolated, vulnerable girl."
Over 60 women have come forward with accusations against Weinstein ranging from sexual misconduct to forcible rape.
Heche said that "there is no bigger monster" in Tinseltown than Weinstein and "it's great that's he's being taken down."
Weinstein's rep told Hollywood Life that "While Ms. Heche and Mr. Weinstein were friendly, he denies these claims as nothing more than an attempt to pile on to the current conversation. Mr. Weinstein denies Ms. Heche's allegations and has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances."