Getty Images via ABC/John Shearer(LOS ANGELES) — Add Kate Beckinsale to the growing list of actresses accusing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.
In a lengthy Instagram post, the British star recalled an incident she claims took place when she was 17, in a setting familiar to anyone following the unfolding scandal: a hotel room.
“I assumed [the meeting] would be in a conference room,” said Beckinsale, now 44, adding she was sent instead to Weinstein’s room. “He opened the door in his bathrobe. I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him.”
Beckinsale writes she left “uneasy but unscathed,” after “declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning.”
The Underworld series star continues: “A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting. I realized he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not.
“I said no to him professionally many times over the years,” Beckinsale writes, “some of which ended up with him screaming…calling me a c*** and making threats…”
She also lamented “the status quo in this business” in which “standing up for myself and saying no to things…undoubtedly harmed my career.”
Beckinsale also related a story of a male friend of hers whom she said attempted to warn another actress about Weinstein’s behavior. “He received a phone call the next day saying he would never work in another Miramax film. [T]he girl was already sleeping with Harvey and had told him [of the warning].”
Beckinsale added, “I would like to applaud the women who have come forward,” and pledged, “we can from this create a new paradigm,” noting, “we in numbers can affect real change.”
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