Salma Hayek Opens Up About Harvey Weinstein's Sexual Assaults

Salma Hayek leaves anonymity and reveals that she was the victim of director Harvey Weinstein. The actress adds to the extensive list of Harvey. Tell your story in an exclusive interview for The New York Times.

Behind the scene

“Harvey Weinstein was a passionate cinephile, a daredevil, a patron of film talent, a loving father and a monster. For years, it was my monster. “

The Mexican actress opened up on Wednesday about her testimony suffered from the legendary producer of Hollywood which is now better known as a serial sexual predator.

At the beginning of October, two journalistic investigations revealed the dark side of the famous director of Hollywood. 65 years-old Harvey Weinstein, producer of Miramax and The Weinstein Company, had harassed around 70 women. Including renamed actresses.

A monster appears

Four women have given their side of the story, claiming they were raped by Weinstein. The police of Los Angeles and New York take this case. Names of recognized actresses like Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow Annabella Sciorra and Mira Sorvino have related their experiences with this producer.

Hayek describes that she didn’t want to speak before because she didn’t believe that her voice was considered. Since so many personalities have told their experiences. She has also been omitting details for years. The center of her story is not about what happened behind the scenes with Weinstein, but to describe in detail how the situation of harassment between a man with so much power and an aspiring actress begins and develops. This takes place during the production of “Frida” a film and Hayek’s personal project in 2002.

The actress made Weinstein interested in the project, taking charge of it promptly. That through her friendship with director Robert Rodriguez and his wife, producer Elizabeth Avellan.

“Knowing what I know today, I wonder if it was my friendship with them (and Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney) that saved me from being raped,”

Hayek always stayed firm

Once the professional relationship began with Weinstein, he made her life a calvary. Trying to obtain sexual favors in exchange for involving her in the project. Hayek’s response was always a resounding “No”. “Not to open the door to him at all hours of the night, in one hotel after another, in one location after another. He appeared suddenly, including a location where I was making a film in which he did not even participate”.

“Not to shower with him,” Hayek said, “not to look at him while showering, not to let him give me a massage, not to let a naked friend of mine give me a massage, not to let him give me oral sex, not to undress with another woman. ” The actress assures that “with every rejection came the Machiavellian anger of Harvey”. On one occasion, the producer came to say: “I’ll kill you, do not think I’m not capable”.

The day they recorded that scene, the actress had an anxiety attack. She cried and ended up vomiting. The production team was amazed and disconcerted by this attitude since they did not know the true reason and context for which that scene had been included in the film.

When the film is finally finished, Weinstein continued to make life shatter the actress for having refused his sexual demands, according to his anecdote. After seeing a preliminary montage, he decided that it wasn’t good enough to be released in theaters and that he was going to send the tape directly to the video market. The director was the one who fought to get its premiere in a single theater in New York and test it with the public. The response to this test was positive, according to Hayek, “at the entrance of the cinema after a pass, he shouted at Julie”. He threw one of the cards in his face where the test audience writes his impressions. “His partner, the composer Elliot Goldenthal, intervened and Harvey threatened him physically.”

Frida a critical success

When the film finally reached its premiere, it was a critical success. It led Weinstein to the Oscars, having had six nominations, of which he won two. Salma Hayek ends her story with a reflection:

“Why do so many of us, female artists, have to go to war to tell our stories when we have so much to offer? Why do we have to fight tooth and nail to maintain dignity? I think it’s because, as women, we have been artistically devalued to a level of indecency, to the point that the film industry has stopped struggling to find out what the female audience wants to see and what stories we want to tell.”

After the accusations came to light in early October, producer Weinstein was fired from his own company, The Weinstein Company, which is now looking for a buyer. He was also dismissed and expelled from the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Union. These accusations that until recently shine, are counted by tens and approach until more than 40 years ago. Through his spokespersons, he assured that his relations made sense and denied the accusations of rape. Currently, the media claims he’s in a rehabilitation center specializing in sex addiction, in Phoenix, Arizona.