American film producer, responsible for iconic independent films such as “Pulp Fiction,” “Playing by Heart,” “The King’s Speech,” and “Shakespeare in Love”, Harvey Weinstein, has been under attack by the media for allegations of sexually assaulting multiple actresses, models, writers, and women in the industry.
#Harvey Weinstein is the Godfather of Hollywood. Weinstein’s movies have earned more than three hundred Oscar nominations. The executive producer, who’s worked on renowned films such as “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “Django Unchained,” possesses enough influence to make or break one’s career.
Though, for more than twenty years, rumors of sexual assault and harassment from Weinstein have followed him. According to The New Yorker, Weinstein has made unwanted sexual advances on thirteen women, and raped three of them.
On October 5, the New York Times published a powerful article that would emerge Weinstein’s hushed secrets from the dark, depths of Hollywood to the limelight, commencing the record decline of Hollywood’s most paramount. Since, multiple actresses have come forth as a victim of Weinstein. The industries biggest actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rosanna Arquette, and Ashley Judd, have come forward with their stories. Most recently, model and actress, Cara Delevingne, has joined them.
Weinstein invites Cara to his hotel room.
The ‘Valerian’ actress shared her story through an Instagram post. According to Delevingne, she met with Weinstein and another director in a hotel lobby for a movie that she was cast for. After the meeting, when the director had left, Weinstein started to brag about all the actresses he had slept and how their careers were attributed to him.
He also spoke to Delevingne about other inappropriate things of sexual nature.
Weinstein then invited Delevingne to his hotel room. The actress initially declined his offer, and asked his assistant if her car was outside. His assistant told Delevingne it wasn't, that it would take a while, and that she should wait in Weinstein’s room.
Delevingne agreed.
“At that moment I felt very powerless and scared, but didn't want to act that way, hoping that I was wrong about the situation,” Delevingne wrote in her Instagram post.
In Weinstein’s hotel room, there was another woman. “He asked us to kiss and she began some sort of advances upon his direction,” Delevingne shared.
To change the mood of the situation to one more of an audition, Delevingne offered to show Weinstein she could sing. Afterwards, she insisted that she needed to leave. Weinstein walked her to the door, blocked the doorway, and tried to kiss her on the lips. After stopping him, she immediately left.
When I first started to work as an actress, i was working on a film and I received a call from… https://t.co/z5zIcOz55B
— Cara Delevingne (@Caradelevingne) October 11, 2017
Delevingne felt guilty about keeping her role in Weinstein’s movie afterwards.
Despite what had happened, Weinstein gave her the role. The actress opens up about feeling guilty and afraid after the events, and how she remained hesitant about speaking up.
Delevingne was meeting Weinstein for the movie, “Tulip Fever”, where she plays a supporting role. It’s a film about an artist falling for a young, married woman, whom he was commissioned to paint a portrait of. It received an average rating and mixed reviews by critics and was released just last September.
Many actresses who came forward with stories of sexual assault from Weinstein shared how scared they were of his influence and position. Many, especially young, aspiring actresses, felt powerless to speak up, fearing what Weinstein might do to their careers.
Italian model, Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, went to the N.Y.P.D. after Weinstein groped her at a meeting. While wearing a wire, she recorded him threaten her, “It’s just five minutes. Don’t ruin your friendship with me for five minutes.”