LOS ANGELES —The Hollywood establishment, slow to react to the initial sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, began speaking out against him more forcefully Monday after the powerful studio boss was fired by own company.
Among the A-listers weighing in were his longtime allies and beneficiaries Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and director Kevin Smith. They spoke up with a combination of disgust over his alleged behavior and remorse and defensiveness over their own business entanglements with him.
“He financed the first 14 years of my career,” Smith, whose movies “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” were produced by Weinstein, wrote on Twitter. “Now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed.”
Weinstein, 65, was fired Sunday by the Weinstein Co., the studio he co-founded, three days after a bombshell New York Times expose alleged decades of crude sexual behavior on his part toward female employees and actresses, including Ashley Judd. The Times said at least eight settlements had been reached with women.
Streep, who once called Weinstein “God” while accepting the Golden Globe for “The Iron Lady,” condemned his alleged conduct as “inexcusable” while also saying she did not know about it before.
“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,” Streep said.
Stories of his behavior, she said, were not universally known in Hollywood.
Similarly, Dench, whose awards and nominations have been inextricably linked for two decades to Weinstein, first at his company Miramax and then at the Weinstein Co., said that she was “completely unaware” of the “horrifying” offenses.
“I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out,” she wrote.
Dench won a best supporting actress Oscar for “Shakespeare in Love” and a nomination for “Philomena.”
In ousting him from the company, the Weinstein board of directors said it was reacting to “new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days.” A studio insider said the Weinstein Co. plans to change its name.
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