Washington: Twenty-two years before the string of sexual misconduct allegations against studio mogul Harvey Weinstein, actor Jason Priestley had a run-in with him that led to Priestley punching Weinstein in the face after the Hollywood mogul allegedly grabbed him at a Miramax party in 1995.
The ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ star recounted the incident on Twitter and confirmed that he had in fact had a harrowing encounter with the disgraced Hollywood producer.
In his tweets, he claimed that he once punched Harvey Weinstein during a confrontation at a 1995 Golden Globes party hosted by Miramax, a company the producer had co-founded and co-managed at the time.
He wrote, “95 Golden Globes…at the Miramax Party… Harvey told me I had to leave… I was leaving when he grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘You told me leave, I’m leaving. I didn’t say you had to leave,’ he replied. ‘You just told me to leave… right over there,’ I tell him once again. Getting heated now. He then grabs me tighter and says, ‘Why don’t we go outside and talk about this.’ That was all I needed to hear.”
The actor continued, “I’m not going anywhere with you,’ I said as I pushed him back and punched him with a right hand to his face. Suddenly, there were security guards pulling us apart and I was escorted out of the party.
Priestley did not say if he had any other interactions with Weinstein, or if the producer had retaliated in any way.
Priestley made his comments after fellow Canadian star Tara Strong referenced the alleged incident while tweeting a message of sympathy towards Mira Sorvino after she responded to a report that quoted Peter Jackson as saying Weinstein’s company had blacklisted her and Ashley Juddfrom working on ‘Lord of the Rings’.
His rep said Weinstein had no input into the casting. Both Sorvino and Judd are two of at least 80 women who have accused the producer of sexual assault and harassment. He has denied the allegations though. (ANI)