US actress Uma Thurman, who is indelibly linked to Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax studio thanks to her iconic roles in Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, has broken her silence about the disgraced Hollywood mogul, accusing him of attacking her and threatening her career.
Dozens of Hollywood women — including Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale and Salma Hayek — have accused Weinstein of acts ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
The scandal touched off a deluge of allegations against powerful men in entertainment, politics and the media, forcing many industries to re-examine workplace policies.
Photo: AFP
Thurman, 47, told the New York Times in an interview published on Saturday of two incidents in London that took place after the release of 1994’s Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction.
They followed an episode in Paris during which Thurman said that Weinstein, dressed in a bathrobe, led her into a steam room during a meeting about a script.
In the “attack,” in Weinstein’s suite at London’s Savoy Hotel, “he pushed me down. He tried to shove himself on me. He tried to expose himself. He did all kinds of unpleasant things,” she said.
Thurman said she took a friend with her to confront Weinstein not long after, but his assistants pressured her to meet him alone.
Thurman said she told Weinstein: “If you do what you did to me to other people you will lose your career, your reputation and your family, I promise you.”
Weinstein told the paper that “she very well could have said this.”
Thurman’s friend Ilona Herman, Robert De Niro’s long-time makeup artist, told the Times that the actress came out of that meeting “very disheveled and so upset.”
Herman said Thurman told her that Weinstein had threatened to end her career.
Weinstein “acknowledges making an awkward pass 25 years ago at Ms Thurman in England after misreading her signals, after a flirtatious exchange in Paris, for which he immediately apologized and deeply regrets,” his spokeswoman said in a statement.
“However, her claims about being physically assaulted are untrue... Mr Weinstein is saddened and puzzled as to why Ms Thurman, someone he considers a colleague and a friend, waited 25 years to make these allegations public,” the statement said.
Weinstein is reportedly in treatment for sexual addiction. Until now, he has said all his sexual encounters have been consensual.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, said that Weinstein was “stunned and saddened.”
Thurman’s comments to the Times “are being carefully examined and investigated before deciding whether any legal action against her would be appropriate,” Brafman said in a statement.
The actress had suggested mistreatment by Weinstein in an Instagram post in November last year when she said: “You don’t deserve a bullet — stay tuned.”
In the Times interview, Thurman also accused director Quentin Tarantino — who has often referred to her as his “muse” — of forcing her to drive an unsafe car during filming of Kill Bill, leading to a serious crash.
In footage posted by the Times, the actress is seen speeding down an unpaved road before crashing into a tree. Thurman is jolted and left dazed for several moments until crew members carry her away.
“I felt this searing pain and thought: ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to walk again,’” she said. “Quentin and I had an enormous fight, and I accused him of trying to kill me.”
Tarantino did not respond to requests by the Times for comment.
Miramax told her at the time that she could see the footage of the crash if she gave up her right to sue, but she declined, Thurman said.
“When they turned on me after the accident,” she said, “I went from being a creative contributor and performer to being like a broken tool.”
Thurman said she has complex feelings about her experiences.
“The complicated feeling I have about Harvey is how bad I feel about all the women that were attacked after I was,” she told the Times. “I am one of the reasons that a young girl would walk into his room alone, the way I did.”
However, fellow actresses were quick to express support for Thurman on social media, with Reese Witherspoon describing her story as “deeply upsetting.”
“Uma Thurman has seen the inside of our industry for 30yrs. I have great respect for her. She is a warrior,” actress Jessica Chastain said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in