Kate Beckinsale has recalled the verbal and emotional abuse she was subjected to by Harvey Weinstein after "ruining" a movie premiere by wearing a white suit.
The 46-year-old actress told how the cast of ‘Serendipity’ felt it was "insensitive and disrespectful" to hold a New York premiere for the movie just a few weeks after 9/11 but the disgraced movie mogul – who was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex crimes on Wednesday (11.03.20) – "insisted" it still went ahead, so she opted to wear a low-key outfit.
The following day, Kate and her daughter Lily-Mo, now 21, were invited to Weinstein’s house, supposedly for a "playdate" but she soon realised it was a ruse so he could reprimand her in private for looking "like a f***ing lesbian" and not wearing a "tight dress".
Sharing photos from the premiere on Instagram, Kate wrote: "These photos were taken at the premiere of ‘Serendipity’ on October 5, 2001.
"We all refused to go because holding a premiere mere weeks after 9/11 with the city still smoking felt like the most insensitive, tone deaf, disrespectful idea possible. But Harvey insisted. We flew into New York and somehow got through it.
"The next morning Harvey called me and asked if I would like to bring my less than two year old daughter to his house for a playdate with his similar aged daughter. I said ok. I turned up and he immediately called for his nanny to take the babies to another room to play. I went to go with them and he said ‘No, you wait here.’
"The minute the door closed he started screaming ‘you stupid fucking ****, you **** you ruined my premiere.’ I had no idea what he was talking about and started to shake.
"He said, ‘If I am throwing a red carpet you get in a tight dress, you shake your ass you shake your tits you do not go down it looking like a f***ing lesbian you stupid f***ing ****.’ The shock made me burst into tears.
"I tried to say ‘Harvey, the city is on fire, people are still looking for their relatives none of us even felt the premiere was appropriate much less coming out dressed like it’s a bachelor party.’ He said, ‘I don’t care – it’s my f***ing premiere and if I want p***y on the red carpet that’s what I get.’ Screaming. Livid."
Kate – who has previously claimed the producer sexually harassed her when she was just 17 – admitted there was nothing illegal about Weinstein’s behaviour and he made sure she was the one who was "punished" over the years.
She continued: "I managed to get myself and my child out of there and yes that was one of many experiences I had that there was no recourse for, and falls under no felony. But I WAS punished for it, and for other instances where I said no to him for years, insidiously and seeming irreversibly."
The ‘Pearl Harbor’ star is relieved the fallen movie mogul will now likely live out the rest of his life behind bars but called for wider action to combat bullying in the film industry.
She wrote: "Hearing that he has gone to prison for 23 years is a huge relief to me on behalf of all the women he sexually assaulted or raped, and I hope will be a deterrent to that sort of behavior in this and any other industry. Having said that, the crimes that are not crimes, the inhumane bullying and sick covert abuse for which there is STILL no recourse no matter who you tell (and I did tell), these too need to go.
"I hope and pray that we as an industry can start to actually outlaw all abuses of power and expose them and eliminate them, for all genders, forever."
The actress ended her post with a nod to Rose McGowan, who was one of the first stars to publicly call out Weinstein when she accused him of rape.
She wrote: "And Rose, brava [heart emoji]."
Kate Beckinsale recalls verbal abuse from Harvey Weinstein
