Joanna Lumley says there are Harvey Weinsteins ‘absolutely everywhere’
Joanna Lumley says there are Harvey Weinsteins ‘absolutely everywhere’
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Actor said there are ‘office wolves’ in every industry. Joanna Lumley has said she believes there are men like convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein “absolutely everywhere”. The 78-year-old star, who features in new Motherland spinoff Amandaland, was talking about being subjected to sexism as a young woman in a new interview.
“Nobody was ever insulted by that,” Lumley said. “But I think we were a little bit tougher then. Somebody put their hand on your leg, you didn’t feel affronted and report it. You’d give them a slap.”. She added: “And people now say, oh, you don’t understand. Well, we do understand because there were Harvey Weinsteins aplenty. I think there still are, and they’re absolutely everywhere. Office wolves, or whatever you want to call them.”.
Weinstein was first arrested in New York City in 2018 after more than 80 women accused him of rape or assault the previous year. At the time, he was one of Hollywood’s most prolific and powerful producers, known for a long list of Oscar-winning movies including Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and Gangs of New York.
While a 2020 conviction in New York was overturned last year by the state’s Court of Appeals due to “egregious errors” by the original trial judge, a separate 16-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles remains in force.
Weinstein maintains his innocence and has repeatedly claimed that all his sexual activity was consensual. Last month, the disgraced movie mogul, who has leukemia, was rushed to hospital after receiving “alarming” blood test results, his lawyer said.