Jessica Chastain is "surprised" she received a Golden Globe nomination after speaking out against Harvey Weinstein.
The 40-year-old actress claimed in October she had previously been "warned" about the alleged behaviour of the movie mogul – who has been accused of sexually harassing more than 80 women over a 30-year period – and she has since "feared" her views might damage her career.
She said: "To be honest, I’m mainly surprised about my nomination. As an actor, I have a lot of fear, thinking that if I speak my mind, or something that feels like it deviates from the norm as a woman, am I going to be made to disappear in my industry?"
Jessica – who was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in ‘Molly’s Game’ – admits her friends helped her to "eliminate fear" that she might be wrecking her career by airing her views about the producer.
She added to the New York Times newspaper: "When the article came out about Weinstein, I immediately started tweeting. I’ve got a good group of girlfriends on WhatsApp, and I said, ‘I’m really terrified I’m destroying my career right now.
"’I wonder if people will still see me as an actress, and want to work with knowing I have these opinions.’
"In the way that only good girlfriends can do, they helped me eliminate fear and understand that the only way to change something that’s wrong is to change it, not ignore it.
"And rather than saying it’s an industry-wide issue, it’s more than that. It’s a society-wide issue. We can’t ignore farmworkers or women who have been invisible."
In October, Jessica claimed she had been made aware of 65-year-old Weinstein "from the beginning" of her career, and urged men to speak up.
She wrote: "I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an environment for it to happen again.
"Yes. Im sick of the media demanding only women speak up. What about the men? Perhaps many are afraid to look at their own behavior….. (sic)"
Jessica Chastain’s Golden Globe surprise
