Jane Fonda is "ashamed" to admit she "found out" about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct a year ago.
The 79-year-old actress revealed Rosanna Arquette – one of the actresses to have publicly accused the disgraced movie mogul of making inappropriate advances towards her – confided in her some time ago, but she didn’t feel it was her "place" to speak out.
She said: "I found out about Harvey a year ago, and I’m ashamed I didn’t say anything back then."
Asked by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour why she didn’t speak out, she said: "I was not that bold. I guess it hadn’t happened to me, and I didn’t feel it was my place."
The ‘Barbarella’ actress is "glad" the accusations have now been made public and can understand why it has taken the women so long to speak out.
She said: "I’m glad it’s coming out. I’m so proud of those fellow actors that are speaking up. I know that it has taken a long time. It is a very, very, very hard thing to do. You don’t get anything out of it as the person who has been victimised, but it is important that it comes out."
Jane herself only met Weinstein once but didn’t have a negative experience, and thought that was because she "was old, and Harvey goes for young because that’s more vulnerable."
The ‘Monster in Law’ star warned that the Weinstein scandal is not an issue "unique" to Hollywood.
She said: "Let’s not think that this is some unique, horrific… This goes on all the time, this male entitlement in Hollywood and everywhere — in offices and businesses all over the world, in bars, in restaurants, in stores women are assaulted, abused, harassed."
The 65-year-old producer has been accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment by a number of women, and as a result has been fired from The Weinstein Company and split from his wife Georgina Chapman.
Jane Fonda ‘ashamed’ she knew about Harvey Weinstein scanda;
