George Clooney slams Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment claims as 'indefensible'

The Academy Award winner has known Weinstein for 20 years
George Clooney has spoken out after the sacking of movie boss Harvey Weinstein
Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Francesca Gillett10 October 2017
The Weekender

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Hollywood A-lister George Clooney has added his name to a growing list of celebrities to speak out against Harvey Weinstein, who was sacked yesterday from the film company he founded amid a storm over sexual misconduct allegations.

After a New York Times expose into Weinstein which alleged eight female stars were paid off following claims of sexual harassment, Clooney said it was "indefensible," adding: "there’s no way you can reconcile that."

Oscar-winning actor Clooney, who broke onto the big screen in 1996 thanks to his role in Weinstein’s film From Dusk Till Dawn, is the most high profile star to speak out about Weinstein’s misconduct allegations.

He told the Daily Beast: “It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with.

“Harvey’s admitted to it, and it’s indefensible. I’ve known Harvey for 20 years. He gave me my first big break as an actor. In films on From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

“We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behaviour, ever.”

The fired film director and Dame Judi Dench.
Scott Wintrow/Getty Images

Weinstein was dismissed from his own Hollywood studio, the Weinstein Company, with immediate effect "in light of new information about misconduct", the board of directors announced yesterday.

The company has launched an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment concerning the Academy Award-winning producer, who is one of its founders.

A statement from the Weinstein Company Board of Representatives said: "In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company - Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar - have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately."

Producer Harvey Weinstein has apologised following claims of sexual assault
Getty Images for The Weinstein C

Harvey Weinstein, who was co-chairman of the studio, had previously announced he was taking leave of absence after claims were made by women with whom he had worked.

​Clooney’s remarks follow statements by actresses Meryl Streep and Judi Dench.

Asked how he reacted to the news, he said: “The rumours in general started back in the 90s.

“They were that certain actresses had slept with Harvey to get a role. It seemed like a way to smear the actresses and demean them by saying that they didn’t get the jobs based on their talent, so I took those rumours with a grain of salt.

“But the other part of this, the part we’re hearing now about eight women being paid off, I didn’t hear anything about that and I don’t know anyone that did. That’s a whole other level and there’s no way you can reconcile that. There’s nothing to say except that it’s indefensible.”

He added: “I don’t think that people were looking the other way; I think that people weren’t looking, because in some ways, a lecherous guy with money picking up younger girls is unfortunately not a news story in our society.”

The Ocean’s Eleven actor added: “I had knock-down, drag-out fights with him over the years, but he was also making films that other studios weren’t willing to make, and he was making films that everybody loved, so you just put up with certain bad behaviour because you felt like, well, if he yells and screams but he gets Pulp Fiction made, who cares if he yells and screams?

“[But] that’s [the allegations] a very different kind of behaviour, and had that been a public thing, I think there would have been some different results. I hope there would be."

Clooney also addressed claims of complicity in Hollywood.

“A good bunch of people that I know would say, ‘Yeah, Harvey’s a dog’ or ‘Harvey’s chasing girls,’ but again, this is a very different kind of thing," he said.

“This is harassment on a very high level. And there’s an argument that everyone is complicit in it.

“I suppose the argument would be that it’s not just about Hollywood, but about all of us—that every time you see someone using their power and influence to take advantage of someone without power and influence and you don’t speak up, you’re complicit. And there’s no question about that.”

He added: “This is about show business but it isn’t just about show business—it’s about everything. We need to get to a place where we can call these people out much quicker before it becomes such a deeper, long-running problem.

“We’re all going to have to be more diligent about it and look for any warning signs. Before, people weren’t paying enough attention to it. Now we have to. This is the moment to start scaring people like this into not acting this way anymore.”

Meryl Streep said on Monday: "The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported."

"The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.

"One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew."

Glenn Close said: "'I'm sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women."

"I'm angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the "casting couch" phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job."

Kevin Smith, whose career was launched with the help of Weinstein, also had harsh words for the executive.

"He financed the first 14 years of my career - and now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed."

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