Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has denied the actress Ashley Judd’s specific sexual harassment allegations against him.
The Divergent star, 49, was quoted in an explosive report published by the New York Times on Thursday (05Oct17), in which multiple women alleged Weinstein, 65, had made inappropriate sexual advances towards them.
Judd told the newspaper that as a young actress Weinstein had invited her to a business meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel and asked her to come up to his room, where he allegedly asked her to give him a massage and watch him shower.
In response to her allegation Weinstein told the New York Post’s Page Six gossip column that he had “never laid a glove on her”.
He added, “After this supposed incident, which she says was in 1997 while filming Kiss The Girls, I took her to an Academy Award party where we were photographed smiling. She claimed to the Times she never worked with me again. She did two movies with me – Frida, which came out in 2002, and Crossing Over with Harrison Ford, released in 2009.”
Judd alleged the incident was part of a sustained harassment campaign, saying, “I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask. It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.”
The actress’ accusations are one of many aired in the New York Times‘ report, which also named Charmed actress Rose McGowan, 44, as one of Weinstein’s alleged victims.
It is alleged that he agreed settlements with multiple sexual harassment accusers, including an unnamed actress and an unidentified Italian model.
After the claims were published Weinstein wrote in a statement that he was taking a “leave of absence” from his firm and apologized for causing colleagues “a lot of pain” in the past.
However he denies the specifics of the report and has announced he is planning to sue New York Times bosses for $50 million.
Weinstein is one of Hollywood’s top producers, with his films having earned more than 300 Academy Award nominations.
