The legal troubles for disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein continue to mount. So far, more than 40 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. In the last few days, four more women have come forward. For more than 20 years, Weinstein has been trailed by these types of rumors of sexual harassment and assault, but now they are all coming home to roost.
One of them is Lysette Anthony, who is a British soap opera star. She accused Weinstein of stalking and raping her. Anthony stated that the alleged rape and stalking incident occurred when she was a 24 year old intern. She said in a recent media interview that Weinstein once showed up on her door step and pushed his way inside her apartment. She said that the attack was pathetic and revolting, and she felt disgusted and embarrassed after the alleged sex crime happened.
Another actress, Paula Wachowiak, also came out last week and said that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in 1980. She said in a media report that he approached her mostly naked in the room and made sexual advances.
Still another British woman using an alias Sarah Smith, also alleged last week that Weinstein raped her in his London office in 1992. London police are saying that they are investigating a total of five allegations of sexual assault in the UK involving three victims. The allegations in London are alleged to have occurred in 1992, 2010, 2011 and 2015.
Weinstein for his part is saying through a spokeswoman that he denies all allegations of rape, sexual assault and nonconsensual sex.
Many Other Sex Allegations Made in the US and Elsewhere
In the US, more than two dozen women, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, have said that Weinstein made unwanted advances towards them, including lewd behavior and sexual assault in some cases.
Also, the Italian actress Asia Argento has alleged that Weinstein raped her when she was 21. According to the New Yorker, she was invited to what she believed was a party in his hotel room near Cannes. But she discovered that she was alone with him. He changed into a bathrobe and asked her to give him a massage. She told the New Yorker that she agreed reluctantly. But she started to massage him, he pulled up her skirt and started to perform oral sex on her.
Argento stated that she felt guilty about it and felt terrible about not fighting him. She also admitted that she eventually had consensual sex with him later, claiming that she thought he would ruin her career if she did not do it.
Lucia Evans is another actress who claims that Weinstein approached her in 2004 at a club in New York. He allegedly arranged a meeting in the Mirimax office, where she was alone with him. She alleges that he forced her to perform oral sex on him. The actress told the New Yorker that Weinstein is a big man and that he overpowered her.
Paltrow has claimed that when she was 22, she was called to Weinstein’s hotel room and he asked her to give him a massage. She would not do it and stated that she was terrified. She told her boyfriend at the time, Brad Pitt, and he confronted Weinstein. After that, Paltrow said that Weinstein told her not to tell anyone else. Paltrow was afraid that he would fire her.
Anbra Battilana Gutierrez, who is a Filipina-Italian model, was 22 when she alleges that she was invited to Weinstein’s office in New York City in the Tribeca area. She alleges that Weinstein lunged at her, grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt. She protested and then went to the police. The New Yorker last week published a tape where she was fitted with a NYPD wiretap. In that recording, Weinstein begged her to join him in his room, but she refused to do it.
She also asked him on the tap when he had groped her chest the day before. Weinstein said on the tape that he was sorry and that he was used to doing that, apparently suggesting that he is accustomed to getting his way with women.
Zoe Brock, who is a writer and model from New Zealand, who was 23 at the time, accepted an invite from Weinstein at his hotel in Cannes in the 1990s. She thought that others would be there. But she soon found herself alone with him. She told the media this month that the movie mogul took off his clothes and asked for a massage. Brock also alleges that Weinstein chased her around the room naked and made unwanted sexual advances on her.
Ashley Judd also has alleged that when she was 20, Weinstein invited her to a hotel in Beverly Hills for what she thought was a business meeting. But she alleges that he had her go to his room where he was in a bathrobe and asked her to give him a massage. She said that she tried to get out of the room as fast as she could.
Brother Bob Weinstein Not Defending Harvey
Weinstein’s brother Bob has been a business partner going back decades, but he has offered no defense whatsoever for the alleged behavior of his brother. Bob Weinstein said last week that he is shocked by sex assault allegations against his brother. He also said that his brother is sick and depraved and that he should get the justice that he deserves. The younger Weinstein also told a reporter that he has essentially had no relationship with his brother for more than five years, and that they run the divisions of their joint business separately.
Why It Took So Long to Come Out
Given the sheer number of sexual assault and even rape charges that are coming out about Weinstein, many wonder why it has taken essentially decades for official charges to be made. According to a major piece in the New Yorker this month, almost all of the women who were spoken to in the article stated that they were afraid of retaliation. Four of the actresses in the piece, including Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette, said they suspected that Weinstein had them removed from projects and dissuaded others from hiring them.
This is not surprising because when Weinstein was at the top of his game, he produced a long string of hits and Academy Award winning films, including the Crying Game, Shakespeare in Love, The King’s Speech, Pulp Fiction and The English Patient. But even the most famous and powerful men eventually will be held to account when there are this many charges of unwanted sexual advances, assault and rape.