Salma Hayek felt too ashamed to come forward and talk about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual advances at first.
The 51-year-old actress has accused the disgraced producer of sexually harassing her a number of times throughout their longstanding professional relationship – something which he vehemently denies – but she was worried about going public about it as she didn’t want her daughter Valentina, 10, to know.
However, she decided it was important to talk out because her pain was "so small" compared to other people’s.
She said: "[The New York Times] contacted me to be a part of the first story and already by this contact, there was all this turmoil and I started crying when they asked and I ended up not doing it. And then I felt ashamed that I was a coward. I was supporting women for two decades but I couldn’t do this … I thought of my daughter … I thought of the shame.
"When it came out, then I was ashamed that I didn’t speak up and then when so many women came out, it was a strange sensation. I felt like my pain was so small [compared to others]. I thought, ‘There’s no point for me to talk because it happens to everyone.’"
And the ‘From Dusk till Dawn’ actress feels it is "important" for people to be able to "release the anger" about what has happened in their past.
Speaking to Oprah Winfrey during Oprah’s Super Soul Conversation Live Event, she added: "It’s important to take responsibility for the things we do to others, but we must stop apologising for being attacked and we must move into a place where you can actually have a conversation.
"It is important to release the anger. I don’t want us to go from victims to angry. I don’t want our anger to be our motto. That doesn’t mean we are not angry … I am a short, Mexican-Arab, angry woman … but I don’t let that anger blur my vision. I can use that energy to be productive."
Salma Hayek was ashamed by Weinstein advances
