ABC/Randy Holmes(NEW YORK) — The bad news for movie mogul Harvey Weinstein continues to mount: After a bombshell story by the New York Times described years of alleged sexual misconduct, a new expose by The New Yorker includes even more shocking allegations, including the news that the NYPD once investigated him for sexual abuse. In addition, more high-profile actresses are coming forward to accuse Weinstein of harassing them.
Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow both tell the New York Times they allegedly suffered some of the same unwanted advances from Weinstein that others have described.
“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did,” Jolie emailed the paper. She claims she rejected advances he made towards her in a hotel room around 1998, when one of her movies was released by Weinstein’s former company, Miramax.
Paltrow described a meeting in Weinstein’s hotel room during which he allegedly put his hands on her and invited her into the bedroom. “I was petrified,” Paltrow said, who also said she told her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt about the situation, and he warned Weinstein never to touch Paltrow again.
Other actresses who have come forward with similar stories include Rosanna Arquette, Asia Argento[ah-see-ah ar-jen-toe], Oscar winner Mira Sorvino and Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, who went to the NYPD after claiming the producer groped her.
With investigators’ help, Gutierrez secretly recorded Weinstein in a hotel corridor. The New Yorkerposted audio from the recording to its website on Tuesday. In the audio, Weinstein is heard apologizing for groping her, and trying to get her to come to his room. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office decided not to file charges after a two-week investigation.
A representative told ABC News, “While the recording is horrifying to listen to…the audio was insufficient to prove a crime under New York law.”
Weinstein’s lawyer has denied he assaulted anyone and said any sexual activity was consensual.
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