Years before the media reported allegations that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed and assaulted actresses, the mega-producer flatly denied he would ever use his power to have sex.
Appearing on The Howard Stern Show on Jan. 15, 2014, the mogul attempted to paint a picture of himself as a well-read, dedicated father who stayed away from any of the stereotypical Hollywood funny business.
“Why not stay single? I gotta figure every starlet in Hollywood wanted to at least blow you, you know what I’m saying?” an incredulous Howard Stern asked. “Did you ever get to experience, I’m gonna say, the mogul aspect? I mean, Do a little coke, hang out with, I don’t know, Julia Roberts give you a hand job, something? You never got any of that?”
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“Howard, as you know only too well, it doesn’t work that way,” Weinstein replied. “I’ll tell you who it works that way for: it works that way for the actors.”
Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Co. this weekend after the New York Times revealed that he had settled at least eight sexual-harassment cases over a three-decade span. Additionally, on Tuesday morning, The New Yorker reported accusations from actresses—dating back as far as the early 1990s—of Weinstein forcing them to perform oral sex, among other acts.
A common thread among the accusations, including those from Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow: Weinstein allegedly inviting young, intimidated actresses to privately meet in a hotel to presumably discuss a major film role, and then making unwanted sexual advances on them.
All of the women who’ve come forward say they remained silent after their respective incidents out of fear that Weinstein would harm their career or rescind their roles in films he was producing.
“Come on, every girl knows that if she’s a competent actress, she could get on your good side, you could make her a star over-fucking-night,” Stern insisted to Weinstein in the 2014 interview. “Don’t tell me it doesn’t work that way.”
A cheerful Weinstein emphatically denied it: “Howard, the movies are too expensive, the risks are too great,” he said. “It doesn’t happen that way anymore.”
Stern then asked: “You can’t walk into the room, pull your pants off, say, ‘Okay, honey’?”
That question seemingly hit too close to reality—given the multiple allegations of Weinstein having done just that—and so the mega-producer immediately pivoted to say: “John Frankenheimer, the great director, told us stories about his day in the movies. We were born way too late.”
Weinstein later added of the many actresses he worked with: “They’re great beauties but they’re so bloody intelligent and brilliant.
“You sit down with a girl like that, you don’t want to do stupid shit, you want to say, ‘Be in my movie, please!’”
