When the first wave of allegations emerged against Harvey Weinstein, Ashley Judd was bravely among those sharing their stories about incidents and experiences at the hands of the disgraced producer. The actress revealed that Weinstein pressured her with requests for massages, and asking her to watch him shower during a meeting in his hotel room. “I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,” she told The New York Times. “It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.”
The extent of Weinstein’s wrath at being rejected is only now becoming illustrated, but it’s clear he harbored grudges at women who wouldn’t bend to his will. According to Peter Jackson, both Judd and Mira Sorvino were essentially blacklisted by Weinstein, likely for refusing his advances.
The director, who at one time discussed making “The Lord Of The Rings” films with Weinstein, remembers being told specifically not to consider Judd and Sorvino for roles.
“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” Jackson told Stuff. “At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us – but in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing.”
“I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women – and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list,” he added.
Jackson’s brief experience with Weinstein left enough of an impression that he vowed never to work with him, or his brother Bob Weinstein, calling them “second-rate Mafia bullies.”
I’d imagine this is only the start of a laundry list of names that Weinstein slandered for refusing his unwanted offers. No response yet from Team Weinstein, but presumably it will be another weak denial.
I remember this well. https://t.co/wctEhESAS9
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) December 15, 2017
