Kate Beckinsale Worries Rejecting Harvey Weinstein Hurt Her Career

Kate Beckinsale claimed in an Instagram post Thursday that she hurt her career by rejecting producer Harvey Weinstein‘s sexual advances when she was 17 years old.

I was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel when I was 17. I assumed it would be in a conference room which was very common.When I arrived ,reception told me to go to his room . He opened the door in his bathrobe . I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older ,unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him .After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left ,uneasy but unscathed.A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting .I realized he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not .I had what I thought were boundaries – I said no to him professionally many times over the years-some of which ended up with him screaming at me calling me a cunt and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people oh “Kate lives to say no to me .” It speaks to the status quo in this business that I was aware that standing up for myself and saying no to things,while it did allow me to feel uncompromised in myself,undoubtedly harmed my career and was never something I felt supported by anyone other than my family.I would like to applaud the women who have come forward , and to pledge that we can from this create a new paradigm where producers,managers,executives and assistants and everyone who has in the past shrugged and said ” well, that’s just Harvey /Mr X/insert name here ” will realize that we in numbers can affect real change.For every moment like this there have been thousands where a vulnerable person has confided outrageous unprofessional behavior and found they have no recourse, due to an atmosphere of fear that it seems almost everyone has been living in .I had a male friend who, based on my experience,warned a young actress who said she was going to dinner with Harvey to be careful. He received a phone call the next day saying he would never work in another Miramax film ;the girl was already sleeping with Harvey and had told him that my friend had warned her off.Let’s stop allowing our young women to be sexual cannon fodder,and let’s remember that Harvey is an emblem of a system that is sick,and that we have work to do.

A post shared by Kate Beckinsale (@katebeckinsale) on Oct 12, 2017 at 6:02am PDT

“I was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel when I was 17. I assumed it would be in a conference room which was very common. When I arrived, reception told me to go to his room,” the Underworld actress wrote, telling a story that has mirrored many shared by dozens of other actresses in the days since the New York Times‘ bombshell report last week.

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“He opened the door in his bathrobe. I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him,” she added.

The 44-year-old British actress wrote that she was offered alcohol and declined, telling Weinstein she had to go to school in the morning. “I left, uneasy but unscathed,” she wrote.

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Beckinsale wrote about meeting him again a few years later, and he asked her if he “tried anything with me” during their first meeting. “I realized he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not,” she wrote.

She goes on to claim that Weinstein would tell people she “lives to say no to me.”

“I had what I thought were boundaries – I said no to him professionally many times over the years-some of which ended up with him screaming at me calling me a c**t and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people oh ‘Kate lives to say no to me,’” she wrote.

“It speaks to the status quo in this business that I was aware that standing up for myself and saying no to things, while it did allow me to feel uncompromised in myself, undoubtedly harmed my career and was never something I felt supported by anyone other than my family,” she added.

The actress went on to praise the strength of the women who have since come forward. She also recalled an instance when a male friend warned a young actress to “be careful” about meeting Weinstein. The next day, this friend got a call that he would not be allowed to work on another Miramax film.

More: Harvey Weinstein Fired From the Weinstein Company Amid Sexual Harassment Accusations

“I would like to applaud the women who have come forward, and to pledge that we can from this create a new paradigm where producers,managers,executives and assistants and everyone who has in the past shrugged and said, ‘Well, that’s just Harvey /Mr X/insert name here’ will realize that we in numbers can affect real change,” Beckinsale wrote. “For every moment like this there have been thousands where a vulnerable person has confided outrageous unprofessional behavior and found they have no recourse, due to an atmosphere of fear that it seems almost everyone has been living in.”

“I had a male friend who, based on my experience, warned a young actress who said she was going to dinner with Harvey to be careful. He received a phone call the next day saying he would never work in another Miramax film; the girl was already sleeping with Harvey and had told him that my friend had warned her off. Let’s stop allowing our young women to be sexual cannon fodder,and let’s remember that Harvey is an emblem of a system that is sick,and that we have work to do,” she added.

Since the New York Times published its report on accusations of sexual harassment against Weinstein, he has been fired from the company he co-founded, The Weinstein Company. More women also spoke out to Ronan Farrow in a piece published by the New Yorker. Weinstein’s wife, Georgina Chapman, also announced that she’s leaving him.