Actress Jessica Chastain says she was warned about Harvey Weinstein “from the beginning” and that stories about his behavior were “everywhere” in Hollywood.
The Oscar-nominated actress starred in two Weinstein-distributed films, 2012’s Western drama Lawless and 2013’s three-part film series The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.
Chastain also responded to followers who asked whether she’d ever done any films with Weinstein.
The actress was one of numerous stars to speak up this week after the New York Times reported Thursday on decades of sexual harassment allegations against the Hollywood super-producer.
“Yes. I’m sick of the media demanding only women speak up. What about the men? Perhaps many are afraid to look at their own behavior,” Chastain added in another tweet.
Other stars who have spoken out in recent weeks include several of the actresses who have won Oscars in Weinstein-produced films, including Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, and Kate Winslet, while actors George Clooney and Jeff Bridges have also spoken about the issue, and late-night hosts finally broke their silence on the allegations against Weinstein Monday night.
“The fact that these women are starting to speak out about the gross misconduct of one of our most important and well regarded film producers, is incredibly brave and has been deeply shocking to hear,” Winslet said in a statement to Variety. “The way Harvey Weinstein has treated these vulnerable, talented young women is NOT the way women should ever EVER deem to be acceptable or commonplace in ANY workplace.”
“I’m angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the “casting couch” phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job,” added actress Glenn Close.
The Hollywood Reporter reported Monday that Weinstein had sent a letter to friends in Hollywood asking them to help support him before he was fired from The Weinstein Company on Sunday.
For more on the still-developing Harvey Weinstein scandal, read the Breitbart News live-wire here.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum