Harvey Weinstein has confirmed he ‘made a pass’ at Gwyneth Paltrow as he gave an interview from prison.
In February 2020, Weinstein was convicted of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
More than 100 people made allegations of sexual harassment or rape against the film producer, kickstarting the Me Too movement which shone a light on sexual violence not just in the film industry, but worldwide.
The disgraced film producer, 73, is currently locked up in Rikers Island following two trials where he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault giving him a combined 39-year jail term.
Speaking from jail with journalist and political commentator Candace Owens, Weinstein has spoken out to proclaim his innocence stating: ‘I did not commit these crimes. I swear that before God and the people watching now and on my family.’
However, in the video, Weinstein made a confession to Owens, stating: ‘I definitely made a pass’ at Paltrow.
He then added that nothing else happened: ‘It’s a complete fabrication about my relationship with Gwyneth. I didn’t put my hands on her. I didn’t touch her.’
Speaking to the New York Times in 2017, Paltrow revealed that she was sexually harassed by Weinstein when she was just 22 years old and had been cast in the 1996 film Emma.
She revealed that before shooting began, he summoned her to his suite for a meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel.
Paltrow revealed that he placed his hand on her and suggested that they massaged one another in the bedroom.
‘I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,’ she said.
She refused his advanced and confided in her boyfriend at the time, Brad Pitt, about the incident. Pitt then confronted Weinstein and the producer later warned Paltrow not to tell anyone else about the incident.
I thought he was going to fire me,’ she said.
In a 2018 interview with Howard Stern, Gwyneth retold the story.
‘We had one instance in a hotel room where he made a pass at me. I really stood up to him and told my boyfriend at the time,’ she said adding that she ‘loved’ Pitt for standing up to someone so powerful.
‘It was out of the blue, and I’ll tell you, I had been having the most incredible experience at Miramax, I was blindsided,’ she said. ‘It was weird, I was shocked.’
She added that she was ‘shaken’ by the whole thing, and Pitt did the equivalent of ‘throwing him against the wall’ to defend Paltrow.
‘What he did was leverage his fame and power to protect me at a time when I didn’t have fame or power,’ she said, adding that Weinstein was never inappropriate with her again.
In trailer for the interview with Owens, Weinstein also discussed previous accusations that he has faced, including accusations from Rose McGowan that he orally raped her when she was cast in Scream.
‘I settled with Rose McGowan,’ Weinstein said in the clip of the interview that is available in full to subscribers.
‘I gave her $100,000, don’t tell my wife, don’t get me into trouble. It’s all conflated, and it’s all led to the idea that I’m going to be the one they persecute.’
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