Hollyoaks actress Lysette Anthony claims Harvey Weinstein raped her in her own Chelsea home
Anthony says she reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police
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Your support makes all the difference.A Hollyoaks star has claimed Harvey Weinstein raped her after turning up to her London home in the late 1980s.
Lysette Anthony, who starred as Marnie Nightingale in the soap opera, described the disgraced film producer’s alleged attack as “pathetic and revolting” and said it left her feeling “disgusted and embarrassed”.
The latest allegation comes after the Oscars voted to expel Weinstein from their board in the wake of a string of sexual assault claims against the Pulp Fiction producer.
Anthony, who is also known for her role in Woody Allen’s Husband and Wives, said she reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police. Scotland Yard had previously said it had received an allegation of sexual assault without naming the embattled producer.
The 54-year-old said she originally met Weinstein in New York when she was starring in 1982 film Krull. The pair became friends and one evening she ended up at his rented house in London.
“The next thing I knew he was half undressed and he grabbed me. It was the last thing I expected and I fled. I blamed it on myself because I was tired, a bit drunk and therefore so completely off my guard,” she told The Sunday Times.
The actor then claimed that Weinstein began stalking her and turning up at her house uninvited and unannounced.
Speaking about the alleged assault, she said Weinstein turned up at her flat in Chelsea at about 10am.
“He pushed me inside, rammed me up against a coat rack. He was trying to kiss me and shove me inside. It was disgusting,” she said.
Anthony said she attempted to push him away but he was too heavy, adding: “Finally I just gave up.”
On Wednesday, Anthony wrote on Twitter that she had just reported a historical crime, saying: “Feel sick... so sad.”
The Metropolitan Police said it received an allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police the same day.
The force said: “The allegation will be assessed by officers from Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command.”
Anthony’s accusation follows a torrent of allegations made against Weinstein by more than two dozen women, including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan, who alleges that he raped her in a hotel room.
Weinstein was fired from his namesake company after an explosive New York Times piece, followed by a 10-month investigative piece in The New Yorker that included three women who accused Weinstein of rape.
In a statement, the Academy said governors voted to expel Weinstein from their board “not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of wilful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behaviour and workplace harassment in our industry is over”.
They added: “What’s at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society.”
Weinstein has vehemently denied the accusations of nonconsensual sex levied against him. He said he is going to seek therapy. Police forces in the US and the UK are investigating the allegations.
"Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances," his spokesperson told The Independent in a statement.