With every day that passes since The New York Times published its story about the many sexual harassment allegations that have been made against Harvey Weinstein (and the more harrowing New Yorker story that added allegations of sexual assault), more and more people come forward with their own allegations against the high-profile movie producer. Just this afternoon, Cara Delevingne shared a story of Weinstein telling her she’d never make it in Hollywood if she came out as gay just before allegedly trying to force her to kiss a woman in his hotel room, and now French actress Léa Seydoux has shared her own Harvey Weinstein story.
Seydoux gave her story to The Guardian, and she says her interaction with Weinstein began at a fashion show in Paris, after which he insisted that she meet with him in his hotel room. They started talking about her acting career, but Seydoux says that the evening “took a sharp turn” as Weinstein “lunged at her” in an attempt to kiss her. “We were talking on the sofa when he suddenly jumped on me and tried to kiss me,” she says. “I had to defend myself. He’s big and fat, so I had to be forceful to resist him.”
She said Weinstein was “very domineering” and was “losing control” as she resisted him, but she thinks that he “respected” her because she physically pushed him away. Seydoux says she saw him on “many other occasions” after that, since they’re both in the movie industry, and she could always recognize the way he “looks for an opening” and “tests women to see what he can get away with.” Seydoux adds that she told friends about what happened to her, but she never made it public on the advice of her agent at the time.