Cate Blanchett suggests Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed her
Oscar-winning actor answered ‘yes’ when she was asked point blank if Weinstein ever sexually harassed her or acted inappropriately
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Your support makes all the difference.Cate Blanchett has spoken about the “bad feeling” she got from disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein and suggested he may have acted inappropriately towards her.
The Oscar-winning Hollywood actor – who worked with Weinstein on several films – was interviewed by Variety where she declined to get into details about her encounters with him, but did say she “wouldn’t do what he was asking me to do”.
Asked “point blank” if he ever sexually harassed her or behaved inappropriately, she said: “With me, yes. I think he really primarily preyed, like most predators, on the vulnerable. I mean I got a bad feeling from him ... He would often say to me, ‘We’re not friends’.”
On whether enough is being done to root out perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment in the media industry, she added: “There is so much work to be done, and it is being done. And, of course, there are a lot of cynics. Whenever change is actually happening there’s always a parallel critique on ‘Is it happening the right way? For what reason is it happening? Are there hidden agendas?’
“But change is happening within the industry in a kind of positive, unstoppable way that will benefit not just women, but everybody in the industry.”
Weinstein has denied all allegations “non-consensual sex” made against him, but has not yet responded directly to Blanchett’s interview. He has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by more than 70 women, and is currently the subject of criminal investigations in the US and the UK.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Harvey Weinstein for comment, and a representative for Cate Blanchett for additional comment