Kate Beckinsale accuses Harvey Weinstein of sexual advances

'It did not cross my mind that this older man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him'

(Getty Images)

Kate Beckinsale has spoken out against Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer who has been accused by multiple women of sexual abuse.

The actor — who starred in the Weinstein Co. films Serendipity and The Aviator — posted the story to Instagram, detailing how she was invited to Weinstein’s hotel room aged 17. When she approached the door, the producer greeted Beckinsale dressed in just a 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,” she wrote. “After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left, uneasy but unscathed.”

Beckinsale continued: "A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting. I realised he couldn't remember if he had assaulted me or not.

“I had what I thought were boundaries — I said no to him professionally many times over the years — some of which ended up with him screaming at me calling me a cunt and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people, 'Oh, Kate lives to say no to me.'

“It speaks to the status quo in this business that I was aware that standing up for myself and saying no to things, while it did allow me to feel uncompromised in myself, undoubtedly harmed my career and was never something I felt supported by anyone other than my family.”

Beckinsale went on to commend the actors who have come forward an publicly spoken out against Weinstein, pledging there will be change in the industry around these sorts of practices.

She wrote: “For every moment like this there have been thousands where a vulnerable person has confided outrageous unprofessional behaviour and found they have no recourse, due to an atmosphere of fear that it seems almost everyone has been living in.”

The actor also told a story regarding one male actor who warned a female actress about Weinstein, only for the male to receive a phone call the next day saying would “never work in another Miramax film” again.

Beckinsale concluded: “Let’s stop allowing our young women to be sexual cannon fodder, and let's remember that Harvey is an emblem of a system that is sick, and that we have work to do.”

Last week, the New York Times said Weinstein — who has since been fired by The Weinstein Co. — paid settlements to eight women to deal with allegations of sexual harassment. The report was followed by claims from more women, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, that the producer of The English Patient and Pulp Fiction, had harassed them too.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Weinstein’s spokeswoman, Sallie Hofmeister, said: “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.”

She added: “He will not be available for further comments, as he is taking the time to focus on his family, on getting counselling and rebuilding his life.”