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Harvey Weinstein remains resentful toward Gwyneth Paltrow, whose allegations played a significant role in his downfall and contributed to a widespread cultural shift. Paltrow claimed that when she was 22, Weinstein made unwanted advances by suggesting a massage after a meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. She refused and subsequently informed her then-boyfriend, Brad Pitt, who confronted Weinstein publicly.
Paltrow was among many women who, in 2017, accused Weinstein of similar misconduct, which ignited the MeToo movement, a campaign against workplace sexual harassment. This wave of revelations saw around 60 women come forward with disturbing allegations against Weinstein.
Weinstein has been found guilty of several sexual offenses in New York and California. However, he is facing a retrial after his New York conviction was overturned due to prejudicial testimony that compromised the fairness of the trial.
Nearly a decade has passed since the scandal erupted, yet Paltrow’s brave stand continues to have a lasting impact on Weinstein, who is currently serving time in prison.
It has now been almost 10 years since the scandal first broke, but Paltrow’s actions continue to haunt the disgraced former filmmaker from behind bars.
In an interview conducted from Rikers Island, Weinstein told The Hollywood Reporter that Paltrow’s allegations against him were especially hurtful as she was a ‘good friend’ of his who ‘owes her career to’ him.
Paltrow won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1999 after starring in Weinstein-produced film, Shakespeare In Love.
Harvey Weinstein moaned that Gwyneth Paltrow made a ‘big deal over nothing’ after he asked her for a massage when she was 22 – pictured at the Oscars in 2022
Weinstein is now serving a 16-year sentence for his California rape conviction at Rikers Island after he was convicted of various sex crimes in both New York and California
‘I don’t know what drove her to do what she did,’ he said. ‘To make such a big deal over nothing. I walked out of a nice meeting with her and said, “How about a massage?”
‘And she just went, “No, I don’t think so.” I got the message. I never put my hands on her. She told Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt came to me and said, “Don’t do anything like that with my girl.” I said, “Don’t worry, Brad. I got it.” But then Gwyneth goes on Howard Stern and and makes a big deal about it all.
‘She knows that nothing happened. But this person who was a friend, who owes her career to me, just stabs me in the back. She wanted to be part of the crowd. I won’t forgive her for that.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Pitt and Paltrow for further comment.
In 2018, Paltrow recalled how her then-boyfriend Pitt confronted Pitt after she told him she had been sexually harassed by Weinstein.
The actress said that the pair were at the opening night of Hamlet on Broadway in 1995 when Pitt saw Weinstein, and sprang into action.
Paltrow told Howard Stern that Pitt threw Weinstein against a wall and said: ‘If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I’ll kill you.’
She also noted that Pitt is ‘the best’ for doing that for her when she did not have fame or power.
Paltrow won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1999 after starring in Weinstein-produced film, Shakespeare In Love – pictured together at the ceremony
Brad Pitt, Paltrow’s then-boyfriend, confronted Weinstein after he learned about the alleged sexual harassment
In an interview conducted from Rikers Island, the disgraced filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter that Paltrow’s allegations against him were especially hurtful as she was a ‘good friend’ of his who ‘owes her career to’ him
‘But this person who was a friend, who owes her career to me, just stabs me in the back,’ Weinstein complained of Gwyneth
Paltrow was one of the first stars to go on the record with The New York Times about Weinstein, in a story that sparked the #MeToo movement.
She recalled how Weinstein asked they go into the bedroom for a massage following a work meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills when she was beginning her career.
She rejected his advance and drove away devastated, thinking: ‘I thought you were my Uncle Harvey.’
Weinstein came back to the actress and told her to never tell anyone what happened between them again.
At the time, Paltrow was preparing to shoot the lead role in Miramax’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ alongside Toni Collette and Ewan McGregor.
‘He screamed at me for a long time,’ said Paltrow.
‘It was brutal.’
A few years later she was a superstar and Oscar winner, but she did not have the power to share her story.
‘I was expected to keep the secret,’ said Paltrow, who called Weinstein ‘alternately generous and supportive and championing, and punitive and bullying.’
She decided however to no longer stay quiet.
‘We’re at a point in time when women need to send a clear message that this is over,’ said Paltrow.
‘This way of treating women ends now.’
Once a Hollywood heavy-hitter, Weinstein became a symbol of sexual misconduct after media reports revealed allegations against him in 2017.
In total, some 60 women came forward with harrowing allegations against Weinstein.
He was convicted of various sex crimes in both New York and California. But he’s on trial again because an appeals court found that his New York trial was tainted by prejudicial testimony and overturned that conviction.
He is currently battling a litany of health woes including cancer, diabetes, spinal stenosis and a possible immune system problem.
Weinstein previously broke his silence from prison to make more denials while offering an admission that he only ‘made a pass’ at Paltrow.
Weinstein co-founded the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company and was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, having produced films such as Pulp Fiction and The Crying Game.
He has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.