Cara Delevingne has come forward with her own incident with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
The actress and model described how when she was first making the leap from modelling into acting, she had not one but two run ins with the producer.
The first was a wildly inappropriate phone call, in which he threatened that she’d never get ‘straight’ roles if she came out as gay or bisexual.
“When I first started to work as an actress, I was working on a film and I received a call from Harvey Weinstein asking if I had slept with any of the women I was seen out with in the media. It was a very odd and uncomfortable call… I answered none of his questions and hurried off the phone but before I hung up, he said to me that if I was gay or decided to be with a woman especially in public that I’d never get the role of a straight woman or make it as an actress in Hollywood.”
The second was a year or two later, when she met the producer in a hotel lobby for a meeting with a director about an upcoming film role. (As as become abundantly clear in the multiple stories that have come out, meeting young actresses or models in hotels in a seemingly innocent matter quickly turned into an uncomfortable and frightening situation.)
“The director left the meeting and Harvey asked me to stay and chat with him. As soon as we were alone he began to brag about all the actresses he had slept with and how he had made their careers and spoke about other inappropriate things of a sexual nature. He then invited me to his room. I quickly declined and asked his assistant if my car was outside. She said it wasn’t and wouldn’t be for a bit and I should go to his room.
“At that moment I felt very powerless and scared but didn’t want to act that way hoping I was wrong about the situation. When I arrived I was relieved to find another woman in his room and thought immediately I was safe.
“He asked us to kiss and she began some sort of advances upon his direction. I swiftly got up and asked him if he knew that I could sing. And I began to sing… I thought it would make the situation better… more professional… like an audition… I was so nervous. After singing I said that I had to leave. He walked me to the door and stood in front of it and tried to kiss me on the lips. I stopped him and managed to get out of the room.
“I still got the part for the film and always thought that he gave it to me because of what happened. Since then I felt awful that I did the movie. I felt like I didn’t deserve the part.”
Delevingne says that she, like so many women in similar situations, didn’t want to speak out because of the guilt and shame that keeps women silent.
“I was so hesitant about speaking out… I didn’t want to hurt his family. I felt guilty as if I did something wrong. I was also terrified that this sort of thing had happened to so many women I know but no one had said anything because of fear.
“I want women and girls to know that being harassed or abused or raped is NEVER their fault and not talking about it will always cause more damage than speaking the truth.”
She says she felt “relieved” at finally being able to share her story, and that “this is only the beginning.”
Her statement ended with a callout on those who turn a blind eye or actively work to cover up this kind of predatory behaviour.
“I urge you all to talk and to the people who defend these men, you are part of the problem.”
She joins a growing list of women, including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan, Heather Graham, and Ashley Judd, as well as a number of former assistants and other employees, who have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment. Three women have also accused him of rape, reports the New Yorker.
The producer has been fired from his own company, had his wife leave him, and is reportedly fleeing the country to pursue ‘treatment for sex addiction’ in Europe.
You can read Cara’s full statement below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaHc485FRVx/?hl=en&taken-by=caradelevingne
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaHdEdxFjST/?hl=en&taken-by=caradelevingne
