Rosanna Arquette has blasted Harvey Weinstein after the disgraced producer claimed her, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie's sexual misconduct allegations against him were 'exaggerated'.
The Pulp Fiction star, 66, was one of a number of actresses to speak out against the disgraced producer, 73, in Ronan Farrow's 2017 New Yorker expose, which ultimately led to his arrest and 16-year jail sentence.
She alleged that he tried to make her touch his penis when she visited his hotel room to discuss a script in the 1990s, with him recently singling her out as having helped to 'destroy' him by not being honest about her experiences.
Paltrow, now 53, alleged she was just 22 when Weinstein asked her for a massage following a meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. She rejected his advances and later told then-boyfriend Brad Pitt, who confronted Weinstein on the red carpet.
Meanwhile Jolie, 50, claims she narrowly escaped being assaulted by him when they worked together in the late 90s. Accusations Weinstein denies.
Weinstein had fumed to The Hollywood Reporter: 'If the camera's on, I'm just going to say Rosanna Arquette, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie -- they just exaggerated. They wanted to be part of the club. And they destroyed me...'
Rosanna Arquette has blasted Harvey Weinstein after he claimed her, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie's sexual misconduct allegations against him were 'exaggerated'
The Pulp Fiction star was one of a number of actresses to speak out against Weinstein in Ronan Farrow's 2017 expose, which ultimately led to his arrest and 16-year jail sentence
'I misled them. I cheated on both my wives. That's immoral. But I did not assault them. That is the big lie of all of this. I won't apologise for something I didn't do. I will be proven innocent. That I promise you.'
Rosanna has now furiously hit back in a lengthy statement to The Wrap, in which she insisted she has 'never exaggerated' what happened to her and stressed her belief that turning down Weinstein's advances damaged her career.
She wrote: 'I have never exaggerated my assault. Ever. My account of what happened has never changed. A simple Google search makes this clear. If, by saying 'exaggerated', he means the retribution I endured,
'Ronan Farrow's investigation into those claims (made by others as well) substantiated the 'blackballing' with respect to me. Ronan's work speaks for itself.
'There was/is no 'club' to belong to as a Harvey Weinstein assault survivor. Being a survivor of assault or rape is not a club. I can't believe that has to be said.'
The statement began with a blunt insistence that the incidents Weinstein had been accused of 'happened', she wrote: 'When it comes to the events that led to Harvey Weinstein's convictions, plural, by juries of his peers, here are the facts:
'The assaults happened. The rapes happened. Prior to his convictions, the rapes and assaults were substantiated by investigative journalists at different legacy news outlets, passing the meticulous scrutiny of teams of lawyers and editors through a rigorous pre-publication process.
'Criminal investigations were conducted by law enforcement agencies in Manhattan and Los Angeles. The facts and evidence of these crimes were brought to courtrooms, where Harvey Weinstein was given the full benefits of due process and was represented by the best attorneys his ample wealth could provide. He was tried and convicted for these crimes.
While his New York conviction was overturned due to procedural reasons, the jury did find him guilty; a re-trial found him guilty of one count of sexual assault. His California conviction stands, and he remains in prison.
'There are allegations of rape and assault from survivors who were minors at the time. These are the facts. It's important to remember them and put them first, especially when a highly skilled storyteller, like Weinstein, is seeking to upend them (with a publicist by his side in prison, no less!).'
Despite her experiences, Rosanna has 'compassion' for Weinstein's family and hopes he succeeds in his bid to be transferred out of 'horrific' Rikers Island prison.
She wrote: 'Rikers Island prison complex is a horrific place. Its existence is a condemnation of our justice system, and I firmly believe it should be shut down. I wish Harvey Weinstein success in getting transferred to a more humane prison. His human rights, and the rights of every prisoner, are as important as every other human being's and deserve to be upheld.
'I feel compassion for his children and ex-wives for the pain this is causing them.'
Paltrow, now 53, alleged she was just 22 when Weinstein asked her for a massage following a meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel (pictured 1999)
And the actress said she had long forgiven Weinstein so she could move past what happened: 'I believe in forgiveness, and I forgave Harvey Weinstein long ago. Not because he asked for it (a necessary first step in redemption, which he has failed to take), but because I didn't want to carry the resentment.
'I didn't, and still don't,want my life defined by assault or retribution. I wish I didn't have to write this, but the interview happened.
'And I felt that both the false accusations made against me,and the fog he attempts to weave by denying facts,calls for a response.'
In an interview conducted from Rikers Island, Weinstein said that Gwyneth’s allegations against him were especially hurtful as she was a ‘good friend’ of his who ‘owes her career to’ him.
Paltrow won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1999 after starring in Weinstein-produced film,Shakespeare In Love.
‘I don’t know what drove her to do what she did,’ he said. ‘To make such a big deal over nothing. I walked out of a nice meeting with her and said, “How about a massage?”
‘And she just went, “No, I don’t think so.” I got the message. I never put my hands on her. She told Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt came to me and said, “Don’t do anything like that with my girl.” I said, “Don’t worry, Brad. I got it.” But then Gwyneth goes on Howard Stern and makes a big deal about it all.
‘She knows that nothing happened. But this person who was a friend, who owes her career to me, just stabs me in the back. She wanted to be part of the crowd. I won’t forgive her for that.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Pitt and Paltrow for further comment.
Meanwhile Jolie, 50, claims she narrowly escaped being assaulted by him when they worked together in the late 90s. Accusations Weinstein denies.
In 2018, Paltrow recalled how her then-boyfriend Pitt confronted the filmmaker after she told him Weinstein had sexually harassed her.
The actress said that the couple were at the opening night of Hamlet on Broadway in 1995 when Pitt saw Weinstein, and sprang into action.
Paltrow told broadcaster Howard Stern that Pitt threw Weinstein against a wall and said: ‘If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I’ll kill you.’
She also noted that Pitt is ‘the best’ for doing that for her when she did not have fame or power.
Meanwhile back in 2021 Weinstein responded to Angelina Jolie’s claims that he tried to sexually assault her when she was just 21-years-old and said ‘THERE WAS NEVER an assault, and NEVER an attempt to assault,’
Calling her statements made to The Guardian ‘publicity clickbait,’ he also repulsively retorted ‘is this whole world assaulting you?’ while saying that everyone ‘shows interest’ in her.
‘It’s very clear to me that this is for more sales on Angie’s BOOK. THERE WAS NEVER an assault, and NEVER an attempt to assault. It is brazenly untrue and clickbait publicity,’ his assistant told the publication on his behalf.
He continued to quip: ‘You’re Angelina Jolie; every male and female in the world; I’m sure; shows interest in you. Is the whole world assaulting you?’
The Maleficent star had first spoken out about having a ‘bad experience’ with Weinstein in a 2017 email to the New York Times.
‘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. This behavior towards women in any field; any country; is unacceptable,’ she wrote at the time.
And in her Guardian interview she elaborated on the situation -- which dates back to 1998 when she worked with him on the film Playing By Heart.
‘If you get yourself out of the room; you think he attempted but didn’t; right? The truth is that the attempt and the experience of the attempt is an assault,’ the Gia actress said.
Jolie continued to confirm that it was an ‘abuse of rights’ when asked by the reporter, and elaborated: ‘It was beyond a pass; it was something I had to escape.’
And after the incident she put the word out that he was not to be left alone with girls and refused to work on any projects with him.
‘I stayed away and warned people about him. I remember telling Jonny; my first husband; who was great about it; to spread the word to other guys -- don’t let girls go alone with him,’ she recalled.
The seasoned actress also said she turned down a role in The Aviator to avoid the industry giant. ‘I said no because he was involved. I never associated or worked with him again. It was hard for me when Brad [Pitt] did.’
Jolie had spoken about being ‘hurt’ when ex Brad Pitt worked with the convicted sex offender not only once,but twice—‘We fought about it.Of course it hurt,’she shared implying that he had teamed up with Weinstein against her wishes.
She continued to allege that Pitt had ‘teamed up’ with Weinstein against her wishes for both films,but sources close to the actor called her read on the situation false and said that he just happened to be cast in a film that was distributed to The Weinstein Company,pper TMZ.