Kathy Bates says ‘in her day’ women knew 'exactly why they were going’ to men’s hotel rooms

Actor suggests ‘times were different’ when she entered the industry in the 1970s

Kathy Bates has commented on the #MeToo movement, suggesting that in the past, what went on during meetings between actors and producers in hotel rooms was “consensual”.

The actor, who has just been nominated for the fourth Oscar of her career for her performance in crime drama Richard Jewell, said that although she supports the women who are sharing their stories of abuse, “times were different” when she entered the industry in the 1970s.

“About people like [Harvey] Weinstein and the casting couch and all of that,” Bates told The Guardian, “I have a confession. In my day, if you went up to a guy’s hotel room, you knew exactly why you were going and in those days it was consensual.”

She added: “Times were different, but I really support the women who are coming forward now and I’m not happy about the men who are being accused falsely – but the ones who deserve all they’re getting, my feeling is hey, go for it.”

In Clint Eastwood’s new film Richard Jewell, Bates plays Bobi, the mother of the eponymous character who was a security guard at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and who discovered a rucksack full of pipe-bombs.

The bombs had been planted by white-supremacist terrorist Eric Rudolph, and were found by Jewell just minutes before they exploded.

Despite saving countless lives by clearing the area before the bombs exploded, Jewell became the FBI’s chief suspect.

Richard Jewell will be released in UK cinemas on 31 January 2020.