Léa Seydoux, who starred in “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” has come forward with her own allegation of sexual harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein.
In an interview with The Guardian, Seydoux recalled a meeting she had with Weinstein in a hotel room ― a familiar setting described by many of the other women who have already shared their stories.
Seydoux said that she and Weinstein were in Paris at the time and both attended a fashion show. The actress claimed that Weinstein insisted she meet him that night. The two met in the hotel lobby and were initially accompanied by a female assistant. However, Seydoux claims Weinstein insisted the meeting continue in his hotel room, where they were left alone by the assistant.
“We were talking on the sofa when he suddenly jumped on me and tried to kiss me,” the actress told The Guardian.
The “Spectre” star said she pushed Weinstein, and felt that “he respected me because I resisted him.”
Certain details of the account remain fuzzy for Seydoux, including whether Weinstein was successful in his attempts to kiss her or how he reacted when she tried to leave.
The actress and model did remember feeling suspicious that Weinstein’s intentions for the meeting weren’t related to work.
“All throughout the evening, he flirted and stared at me as if I was a piece of meat,” she said. “It was hard to say no because he’s so powerful. I’m an actress and he’s a producer.”
Seydoux told the outlet that following the incident, she shared her story with friends and her agent, who warned her to stay far away from Weinstein. But, as she noted, being in the same industry has made it hard to avoid the Miramax co-founder.
For Seydoux, “the most disgusting thing” is that “everyone knew what Harvey was up to and no one did anything.”
“It’s unbelievable that he’s been able to act like this for decades and still keep his career,” she said.
The details Seydoux recalled echo the many stories already shared by various women, some of whom are fellow actresses, including Ashley Judd, Asia Argento, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Allegations against Weinstein first surfaced last week when The New York Times published a damning report detailing various accounts of sexual harassment. A similarly disturbing report by The New Yorker followed.
In the wake of the news, Weinstein has been fired from his production company, The Weinstein Company, which reportedly has plans to change its name. The company will also reportedly scrub Weinstein’s executive producer credit from future TV series and movies.
Weinstein’s wife, Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, confirmed that she has “chosen to leave [her] husband,” a decision Weinstein said he supported.
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