Celebrities Speak out After Harvey Weinstein Allegations Surface

Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein is at the center of sexual assault scandal and many of the A-list stars are speaking out about their experiences with him.

In a wide-ranging exposé written by NBC reporter Ronan Farrow published by The New Yorker, multiple women allege that Weinstein sexually assaulted them. Several of the women identified in the original article include Asia Argento, Roseanna Arquette and Mira Sorvino.

After the allegations came to light, more of Weinstein’s former collaborators have continued to come forward and speak out against him. One actress that has alleged sexual misconduct is Gwyneth Paltrow.

Paltrow, 45, was one of many actresses that have come forward to make disturbing accusations against Weinstein. The Oscar-winning actress alleged that she was sexually harassed by Weinstein when he was 22.

At the time, she had been cast as the lead in the Jane Austen adaptation, Emma. Paltrow accused Weinstein of putting his hands on her and suggesting that they go into his bedroom for massages.

“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” she said.

Paltrow confided in her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt. At the movie premiere, Pitt confronted Weinstein about the incident.

After the encounter, Paltrow says that Weinstein warned her about never telling anyone about what happened.

“I thought he was going to fire me,” she said.

A number of other accusations of this type have been surfaced. After the news broke, a slew of Hollywood stars spoke out about Weinstein. Keep scrolling to see many of their responses.

Ben Affleck, Emma Watson and Jessica Chastain

Ben Affleck penned a heartfelt note about wanting to stand in support of those that have encountered the type of behavior that Weinstein has allegedly exhibited.

“I am saddened and angry that a man who I worked with used his position of power to intimidate, sexually harass and manipulate many women over decades. The additional allegations of assault that I read this morning made me sick,” an excerpt from his post reads.

Beauty and the Beast star Emma Watson tweeted about how she wants to stand with all victims of sexual assault after the Weinstein allegations surfaced.

The Martian actress Jessica Chastain took to Twitter to express that the “stories” about Weinstein were rampant in Hollywood.

George Clooney, Mark Ruffalo and Judd Apatow

George Clooney shared a statement about how he never personally witnessed Weinstein’s behavior, but that the allegations are “indefensible.”

“It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with,” Clooney said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Harvey’s admitted to it, and it’s indefensible. I’ve known Harvey for 20 years. He gave me my first big break as an actor in films on From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior — ever.”

Mark Ruffalo penned a response on Twitter about how he hopes this horrific situation will be the “beginning of the end” to sexual assault cases like this.

Filmmaker Judd Apatow tweeted about how he hopes victims of sexual abuse should feel empowered to come forward after the Weinstein scandal surfaced.

Angelina Jolie, Glenn Close and Emmy Rossum

Angelina Jolie explained that she had experienced Weinstein’s inappropriate behavior and that she refused to work with him since that time.

“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did,” Jolie said in an email to the New York Times. “This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable.”

Glenn Close penned a statement in which she voiced her “anger” with Weinstein.

“I’m sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women,” Glenn told the New York Times. Harvey has always been decent to me, but now that the rumors are being substantiated, I feel angry and darkly sad.

“I’m angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the ‘casting couch’ phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job,” she continued in a portion of her statement.

Shameless star Emmy Rossum took to Twitter to slam Weinstein for his defense.

Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep

Kate Winslet spoke out to condemn Weinstein’s alleged behavior.

“The fact that these women are starting to speak out about the gross misconduct of one of our most important and well regarded film producers is incredibly brave and has been deeply shocking to hear,” Winslet told Variety. “The way Harvey Weinstein has treated these vulnerable, talented young women is NOT the way women should ever EVER deem to be acceptable or commonplace in ANY workplace.

“I have no doubt that for these women this time has been, and continues to be extremely traumatic. I fully embrace and salute their profound courage, and I unequivocally support this level of very necessary exposure of someone who has behaved in reprehensible and disgusting ways. His behavior is without question disgraceful and appalling and very, very wrong. I had hoped that these kind of stories were just made up rumors, maybe we have all been naive. And it makes me so angry. There must be ‘no tolerance’ of this degrading, vile treatment of women in ANY workplace anywhere in the world,” she continued.

Meryl Streep gave a statement in which she praised the women who raised their voices.

“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,” Streep told the HuffPost. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.

“One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew. Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally,” she continued.

She concluded the post by writing: “The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.”

Harvey Weinstein’s Statement in Defense

Despite the numerous accusations, Weinstein’s legal team has maintained the interactions were “consensual.”

“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein,” the statement published by The New Yorker read. “Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.

“Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance,” the statement continued.