Los Angeles: Actress Anne Heche has joined the long list of actresses who have accused movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 48-year-old actress revealed that she was fired from a film project after refusing to perform oral sex on the disgraced mogul.
In a recent interview on the podcast ‘Allegedly With Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss’, when asked why more women didn’t come forward with allegations against Weinstein before October, Heche said, “First of all, you were threatened the second you walk out the door. I did not suck Harvey’s d***, though he showed it to me, and I got out of the room before there was any physical contact”.
She added, “The fact is that I was fired from a job that I had been hired for at Miramax. The repercussions of standing up for yourself were as deep and targeted as some of the scars of the women who actually got more physically, unfortunately, involved”.
Heche went on to say that she felt many of the women Weinstein allegedly targeted were “young girls” who did not have traditional support systems.
“You didn’t have different avenues, you’re an actress, you’ve come to L.A., you’re on your own, you’re alone. You don’t have friends that are able to talk to, that’s what he takes advantage of, that isolated, vulnerable girl, and that’s why every one of us was 19 or 20 or 21 or 22. He didn’t go after the 40-year-old woman”, continued Heche.
The ‘Brave’ star concluded by saying, “There is no bigger monster [than Weinstein] and it’s great that’s he’s being taken down”.
In response to these allegations, a spokeswoman on behalf of Weinstein said, “While Ms Heche and Mr Weinstein were friendly, he denies these claims as nothing more than an attempt to pile on to the current conversation. Mr Weinstein denies Ms Heche’s allegations and has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances”.
Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 60 women. He is under investigation by authorities in New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and London. (ANI)