Harvey Weinstein, the movie producer who was arrested on charges of rape last May and is currently on bail, has issued a rare statement rebuffing a detail in a lengthy profile of Gwyneth Paltrow.
In the Variety interview, Paltrow recalls working with Weinstein over the years, including on the multi-Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love, which triumphed at the Academy Awards 20 years ago. Just before shooting began, Paltrow says, “Harvey wanted Ben Affleck to take over and play Shakespeare. I said, ‘No, you can’t do that. You have to have an English person.’”
The magazine says both the film’s director, John Madden, and producer, Donna Gigliotti, had confirmed to them that Weinstein suggested Affleck for the role which went to Joseph Fiennes. Affleck, meanwhile, joined the cast as actor Ned Alleyn.
On Tuesday, Weinstein denied this was the case. “Gwyneth Paltrow is an excellent actor and a fantastic person, who does so well when on the right project,” he said in a statement via his publicist.
“The only other contenders for the role of Will Shakespeare were Russell Crowe and Ethan Hawke, no one else. Ben Affleck did a terrific job as Ned Alleyn, which is the role he was considered for.”
In the interview, Paltrow further detailed the alleged incident that led her to join dozens of other women in accusing Weinstein of sexual misconduct in a 2017 New York Times article. “I had one really uncomfortable, weird experience; then he was never inappropriate with me again in that way,” she said, referring to an incident in 1996, when they were working on Emma.
Paltrow says that Weinstein summoned her to his hotel room, put his hands on her and asked her for a massage. When she told her then-boyfriend, Brad Pitt, what had occurred, he threatened to kill the producer.
Paltrow explains that after that incident, she felt emboldened to speak up her dealings with a man she calls “a very difficult boss”. This paid dividends when she suspected his company may have withheld profits from her following the success of Emma.
“I got him to pay me something. I remember I got this legal letter that said, ‘This is not an acknowledgment that we owe you this money, but here’s a cheque,’” she recalled.
Variety also shared a note sent by Juda Engelmayer, Weinstein’s current representative, which prefaced the statement about Affleck and took issue with their reporting in general.
“Just to ask – why wouldn’t you ask us anything here,” it read. “When will the media … shit about Harvey fade out and when will actual reporting and investigating become something revered again? When Paltrow says, ‘A movie is not going to be successful if it’s not a good movie, not like that,’ you take it as gospel, but when someone accuses Harvey of shenanigans the same sentiment is ignored in place of something more sinister, why is that?
“Just as a good movie is a good movie, if someone is a good actor, you can’t keep her or him down. If someone is a box office draw, a good agency and good actor will get chosen for a role – blacklisting someone is just a bullshit idea convenient to beat the drum against Weinstein with.”
Weinstein faces trial over the alleged assault of two women. He denies all accusations of non-consensual sex.
