Lena Headey Joins List of Women Accusing Harvey Weinstein of Harassment
Lena Headey, who plays Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones, has accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment.
According to the Game of Thrones star, Harvey Weinstein was “furious” after she resisted his advances. She made the revelation in a series of Twitter posts.
Lena Headey joins a list of over 40 women who have accused the Hollywood producer of misconduct.
Also on October 17, Harvey Weinstein, 65, resigned from the board of directors of his eponymous film production company.
He has been accused of rape, assault and harassment, but has “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual relationships.
Despite being fired as chairman of The Weinstein Company studio on October 8, Harvey Weinstein had continued until October 17 to hold a position on the company’s board.
According to Variety magazine, Harvey Weinstein – who has been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that present the Oscar awards – still owns 22% of his company’s stock.
Amid the fallout over the Weinstein accusations, Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, also resigned on October 17 over allegations of harassment.
Roy Price took a “leave of absence” on October 12 after Isa Hackett, a producer on the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle, told the Hollywood Reporter he allegedly harassed her in 2015.
In her Twitter posts, Lena Headey described sharing an elevator with Harvey Weinstein after he had invited her to his room to show her a script.
Image source Wikimedia
The Game of Thrones actress recalled: “The lift was going up and I said to Harvey, <<I’m not interested in anything other than work, please don’t think I got in here with you for any other reason, nothing is going to happen>>.
“I don’t know what possessed me to speak out at that moment, only that I had such a strong sense of don’t come near me.
“He was silent after I spoke, furious.”
“He walked me back to the lift by grabbing and holding tightly to the back of my arm,” she said, adding that she felt “completely powerless”.
After Harvey Weinstein allegedly “whispered” that she should not tell anyone about the encounter, Lena Headey writes: “I got into my car and cried.”
Her story comes as other Hollywood actresses shared their stories of harassment and impropriety in show business.
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On October 16, Reese Witherspoon said she had been harassed by an unnamed film director when she was just 16, during a speech to the Elle Women in Hollywood event.
Jennifer Lawrence, who has won a Best Actress Oscar, spoke at the same event and described a casting call where she was made to stand in front of producers who criticized her weight.
DreamWorks film studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg meanwhile told a Wall Street Journal conference of Harvey Weinstein: “Make no mistake about it: he is a monster.”
Jeffrey Katzenberg added Harvey Weinstein had been protected by other men around him, who he described as “a pack of wolves”.
Screenwriter Scott Rosenberg also got involved by writing a Facebook post about his early days at Miramax Films.
He wrote the movies Beautiful Girls and Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead at the time Harvey Weinstein’s profile was rising in the film industry.
In his Facebook post, Scott Rosenberg said that while he never heard any rape allegations, he was aware of Harvey Weinstein’s “dreadful” behavior – and said “everybody” else knew, too.
“I was there. And I saw you. And I talked about it with you,” the screenwriter wrote.
“You, the big producers; you, the big directors; you, the big agents; you, the big financiers.
“And you, the big rival studio chiefs; you, the big actors; you, the big actresses; you, the big models.
“You, the big journalists; you, the big screenwriters; you, the big rock stars; you, the big restaurateurs; you, the big politicians.”
Scott Rosenberg said others chose to ignore what was going on because they were enjoying themselves and because women were told it would ruin their careers if they said anything.
At the end of his post, Scott Rosenberg apologized for not doing anything.
“I reaped the rewards and I kept my mouth shut,” he said.
“And for that, once again, I am sorry.”
Lauren Holly has also come forward, sharing her story of harassment, describing an encounter she had with Harvey Weinstein.
The pair arranged a meeting in a hotel, which the Beautiful Girls actress didn’t find “abnormal at all” because she had routinely met producers, writers and directors in their suites.
Lauren Holly described the early stages of the meeting as normal, but said things turned sour when Harvey Weinstein walked into the hotel suite “wearing a hotel bathrobe”.
“He said, <<OK, let’s get to it, this is what we’ve got going on at my company, these are the scripts we have in the pipeline, this is what I think might be right for you>>, and he gestured for me to follow him.”
Lauren Holly recounted that she followed him into the bedroom part of the suite as he continued talking.
Harvey Weinstein then showered and, when he emerged, started to approach her.
Lauren Holly said she started to run away, but that Harvey Weinstein began to threaten her, saying she needed to “keep him as [her] ally” and that it would be a “bad decision” if she left the room.
At that point, Lauren Holly said, she “pushed him and ran”.