In the aftermath of a New York Times report titled "Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers For Decades," dozens of women came forward alleging harassment against the movie mogul, including stars like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ashley Judd. Now, acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino – who began his working relationship with Weinstein in 1992 when Weinstein distributed Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs under Miramax – is speaking out about how he was aware of the harassment allegations against the Hollywood producer for years.
In an interview with The New York Times, Tarantino revealed that he had heard stories of Weinstein allegedly harassing his then-girlfriend, Mighty Aphrodite actress Mira Sorvino, straight from the source: Sorvino, at the time, alleged that Weinstein massaged her inappropriately and chased her around a hotel room. She has since spoken out about the alleged harassment by Weinstein in an article for The New Yorker.
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"I couldn’t believe he would do that so openly. I was like: 'Really? Really?' But the thing I thought then, at the time, was that he was particularly hung up on Mira...I thought Harvey was hung up on her in this Svengali kind of way," Tarantino told the outlet.
(Weinstein spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister issued a statement to The New Yorker: "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.")
Tarantino admitted that he thought because he was now dating Sorvino that the problem was essentially "solved."
"[I thought,] 'I’m with her, he knows that, he won’t mess with her, he knows that she’s my girlfriend,'" the director explained to The New York Times.
Tarantino also issued a call to action for his fellow men.
"I’m calling on the other guys who knew more to not be scared. Don’t just give out statements. Acknowledge that there was something rotten in Denmark. Vow to do better by our sisters."
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).