Following the lengthening list of women who have been upended, harassed, and sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein, Uma Thurman comes out as another victim of Weinstein’s gross abuse of power. Starting with their work together in the cult-classic “Pulp Fiction” (1994), Thurman confirms that Weinstein targets actresses like her.
First encounters with Harvey
Thurman recalls Weinstein, in the years spent working with him on “Pulp Fiction” as well as both “Kill Bill” volumes (2003-2004), as being rather eccentric. Before the first sexual assault, Thurman speaks on how close she, Harvey, and his wife Eve had been.
The former two spent hours discussing film material, and Thurman recalls the producer constantly building her up, validating her, making her a hero.
“I was never any kind of studio darling. He had a chokehold on the type of films and directors that were right for me.” Thurman acknowledges that this is the kind of power that many sexual predators in these industries have — the power to determine the future of their victims’ careers.
Weinstein constantly flirted with Thurman, even going so far as to invite her into a private steam room. The first attack, however, came when the two were discussing work in Weinstein’s suite at the Savoy Hotel in London. Weinstein forced her down and tried to become nude while on top of her.
I am angry. Uma Thurman kind of angry. It’s despicable what is happening to women, the fact that they have been stonewalled and muted so they had to involve the media to have someone, anyone, finally start paying attention to all the abuse they have been put through.
— Ksenija Pavlovic (@ksenijapavlovic) February 9, 2018
Weinstein ruined her relationships
“Kill Bill,” the brainchild of Thurman, Weinstein, and Quentin Tarantino, formed the basis for further abuse upon Thurman.
Weinstein and Tarantino had been rather close friends, and although Tarantino was aware of Weinstein’s disgusting tendency towards sexual harassment, nothing was ever done about it.
This strained the relationship between Thurman and Tarantino, who worked brilliantly together, and this tension culminated in Thurman’s tragic onset crash during the last few months of filming.
The crash was ultimately caused by Tarantino’s persistence — he wanted her, rather than a stunt double, to drive the car across a twisting road. Even though Thurman expressed that the car was not safe, Tarantino assured her that it was, and Thurman ended up permanently injuring her neck and her knees.
Uma Thurman's Kill Bill Car Crash🆕. This is how the dangerous "#KillBill " scene was filmed in which #Tarantino demands #UmaThurman an unnecessary risk. The video was uploaded to the network by the Umma itself. pic.twitter.com/WduUK46VB4
— setzehomes (@setzehomes) February 6, 2018
A prophesied reckoning
After the first attack, at the hands of Weinstein, Thurman recalls confronting him the following day, briefly accompanied by a friend.
“If you do what you did to me to other people you will lose your career, your reputation, and your family, I promise you.”
On October 5, Weinstein’s career came crashing down in the wake of several women detailing decades of sexual harassment perpetrated by none other than Weinstein. While it took over a decade for Thurman’s words to prove true, his reckoning is one that Thurman is content to watch in its slow, painful burn.