Harvey Weinstein: US actress Rose McGowan makes rape allegation
The scandal deluging Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has deepened after US actress Rose McGowan publicly accused him of raping her.
In a series of tweets, McGowan also accused Amazon Studio chief Roy Price of having ignored her when she made the allegation earlier.
Amazon has put Price – himself accused on Thursday of sexually harassing a female producer – on leave of absence.
Weinstein denies any sexual assaults. There was no comment from Price.
Police forces in the US and UK police have launched investigations into sexual assault allegations against Weinstein:
- The New York Police Department is looking into an allegation dating from 2004 and reviewing whether there are any additional complaints
- London's Met Police has received an allegation of sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s
Addressing Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos on Twitter, McGowan – who has appeared in Scream, The Black Dahlia and TV series Charmed – criticised the company for doing business with Weinstein.
"I told the head of your studio that HW raped me," she wrote. "Over & over I said it. He said it hadn't been proven. I said I was the proof."
Price was separately accused by Isa Hackett, a producer on one of Amazon's shows, of having lewdly propositioned her in a taxi and at a corporate dinner in 2015, the Hollywood Reporter writes.
Hackett reported the incident to Amazon executives immediately, she was quoted as saying, and an outside investigator was brought in.
She was not told the outcome of the investigation but did not see Price again at any events involving her shows, she added.
In a statement, Amazon said: "Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately. We are reviewing our options for the projects we have with The Weinstein Co."
- Harvey Weinstein: The accusers' stories
- What it was like to work for Weinstein
- How the scandal unfolded
Three women earlier accused Weinstein of rape in an investigative article in The New Yorker magazine.
They are Italian actress and director Asia Argento, former aspiring actress Lucia Evans and a third woman who was anonymous.
The same article says 10 other women told the author that Weinstein had either sexually harassed or assaulted them between the 1990s and 2015.
The New York Times broke the story on 5 October when it detailed decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Weinstein.
Weinstein has insisted through a spokeswoman that any sexual contacts he had were consensual.
Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone has said he believes that Weinstein should not be judged prematurely.
"If he broke the law it will come out," he told reporters on a visit to South Korea for a film festival. "I believe that a man shouldn't be condemned by a vigilante system."
In a subsequent social media post, however, Stone expressed a wish to "recuse" himself from a TV series about Guantanamo Bay "as long as The Weinstein Company is involved".
The director wrote on Facebook that he was "appalled" by the allegations made against Harvey Weinstein and "commend[ed] the courage of the women who've stepped forward".
In another development, Twitter briefly suspended McGowan for violating its terms and policies after she included a personal phone number in tweets about sexual abuse allegations.
Some prominent US figures, notably from the entertainment world, said they would boycott the platform on Friday in protest, using the hashtag #WomenBoycottTwitter.
Other developments include:
- Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Hillary Clinton said she was "shocked and appalled" by the allegations, adding: "The stories that have come out are heartbreaking." Weinstein has been a prominent supporter and funder of the Democratic party.
- Quentin Tarantino said he is "stunned and heartbroken" about the claims concerning Weinstein, whom he described as a "friend for 25 years". In a statement posted by the actress Amber Tamblyn, the Pulp Fiction director said he needed "a few more days to process [his] pain, emotions, anger and memory" before commenting further.
- Sienna Miller said she was "fortunate to never have been subjected to sexual harassment or advances by Harvey Weinstein". "But I stand in absolute solidarity with those who were," the British actress wrote on Instagram.
- Penelope Cruz said she felt "extremely sad and shocked" by the reports about Weinstein's alleged conduct. The Spanish star said she had "never witnessed such behaviour personally" but supported those who had come forward and "shown great bravery by talking".
- The Sun reports that Harvey Weinstein was the "Hollywood star" Myleene Klass previously claimed made a sexual proposition to her in 2010. The former Hear'Say singer had claimed she was asked to sign "some kind of sex contract" by one of the individual's employees.
- A British actress has accused Harvey Weinstein of pinning her down and masturbating in front of her in a London hotel room when she was 22. Sophie Dix, now 48, told The Guardian the alleged incident was "the single most damaging thing that's happened in [her] life."
- Colin Firth expressed his shame in an interview with The Guardian for not acting on information he was given by Dix about a "distressing encounter" she had with Weinstein. "I don't think she went into all the horrific detail I've read in her interview," he said. "But I remember her being profoundly upset by it. To my shame, I merely expressed sympathy."
- A caption accompanying an ITV interview with Anne-Marie Duff that stated she was "terrified of Weinstein" has been described as "misleading" and "a false statement" by the actress's representative. Duff had commented on the producer's "disgraceful behaviour" during an appearance on Lorraine Kelly's morning show. ITV later apologised for the "error".
- Tom Hanks has described Weinstein as "a bit of an ass" in a New York Times interview. "I've never worked with Harvey," he told the newspaper. "But, aah, it all just sort of fits, doesn't it?"
- Colin Farrell has described the accusations of sexual harassment made against Harvey Weinstein as "horrific". "I hope anyone who was hurt that they have healing," he said at the London Film Festival premiere of his latest film. "It's just atrocious, really."
- Ryan Gosling has tweeted in support of "the women who have had the courage to speak out" against Weinstein. The La La Land actor said he had worked with the producer and felt "deeply disappointed… for being so oblivious to these devastating experiences of sexual harassment and abuse".
- The Producers Guild of America is to hold an emergency board meeting on Saturday to discuss its response to the Weinstein allegations. Deadline claims it is likely Weinstein will be expelled from the guild, which previously honoured the producer and his brother Bob with its prestigious Milestone Award.
- The co-creators of Broadway musical Into the Heights have expressed a desire for a proposed film adaptation not to be made by Harvey Weinstein's former company. "I hope The Weinstein Company has enough grace… to allow us to extricate Into the Heights from them," wrote Quiara Alegria Hudes in a post that was retweeted by collaborator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
- TMZ claims Harvey Weinstein had an provision in his 2015 employment contract that said he could escape being fired for misconduct if he reimbursed the company for any settlements or judgements made against him. The website suggests Weinstein could have been fired illegally. The BBC has contacted The Weinstein Company and is awaiting a response.
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