Eva Green Breaks Silence on Harvey Weinstein's Alleged Sexual Harassment: 'I Had to Push Him Off'
Eva Green is adding her name to the long list of stars who have accused disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.
In a statement issued to Variety, the 37-year-old Penny Dreadful star claimed she had to push Weinstein off of her after he made sexual advances during a business meeting in Paris.
The claim comes a day after Green’s mother, French actress Marlene Jobert, first revealed that her daughter was also “sexually harassed” by the movie mogul for two years during 2010-11.
“My daughter Eva was the victim of this horrible man,” the 76-year old star told Europe 1 radio, adding she was speaking on her daughter’s behalf. “At the time, I was truly horrified, so scandalized that I wanted to do something but my daughter said, ‘Absolutely not! You do not know the evil he is capable of.’ ”
In her statement to Variety, Green explained that while she wanted to maintain her privacy, she was now ready to speak out herself.
“I wish to address comments made by my mother in a recent interview regarding Harvey Weinstein,” Green wrote. “I met him for a business meeting in Paris at which he behaved inappropriately and I had to push him off. I got away without it going further, but the experience left me shocked and disgusted.”
“I have not discussed this before because I wanted to maintain my privacy, but I understand it is important to do so as I hear about other women’s experiences,” she continued. “Women are often condemned when they speak out and their personal reputations tarnished by association.”
Green, who worked with Weinstein on 2014’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, is one of dozens of women who broke their silence this week to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct — including Gwyneth Paltrow, Cara Delevingne, Ashley Judd, and Angelina Jolie.
“I salute the great bravery of the women who have come forward,” Green concluded. “We should recognize that this sort of behavior exists everywhere and is not unique to the entertainment industry. The exploitation of power is ubiquitous. This behavior is unacceptable and needs to be eliminated.”
Prior to Green’s story, eight women spoke out against Weinstein in a bombshell New York Times report published Oct. 5. accusing the mogul of inappropriate behavior. The paper also reported that Weinstein reached private settlements with eight women, including actress Rose McGowan.
Following the initial report, Weinstein said in a statement that he was working with therapists and planned to “deal with this issue head-on.” He has since been fired from his powerhouse studio, the Weinstein Company, and his wife, Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, has announced she’s leaving him.
“My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband. Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time,” Chapman said in a statement to PEOPLE.
On Tuesday, Paltrow and Jolie added their own accounts of alleged mistreatment —Paltrow alleging to the Times that Weinstein sexually harassed her in a hotel room when she was 22 and Jolie claiming to the outlet that she had a “bad experience” with Weinstein in a hotel room during the release of Playing by Heart in the late ’90s.
Also that day, The New Yorker revealed — among 13 different women’s accounts of alleged sexual harassment, assault or rape — that the mogul allegedly forcibly performed oral sex on Italian actress Asia Argento two decades ago. Actresses Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette also claimed that after rejecting Weinstein’s unwanted advances, they were removed from or kept from being hired for projects.
In response to the lengthy allegations made against Weinstein in the New Yorker piece, a spokesperson for Weinstein said, “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”
Weinstein spoke to cameras on Wednesday while leaving his daughter’s Los Angeles house, saying he was “not doing okay” and hoping for a “second chance” amid the allegations.
A source confirmed to PEOPLE that the 65-year-old had flown out of Los Angeles to luxury resort.
