Kate Beckinsale: Harvey Weinstein Hit on Me When I Was 17

Kate Beckinsale is the latest actress to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, and she states that she thinks it hurt her career.

On Thursday, the Underworld star released a statement via Instagram. She said the producer showed up to a meeting in a bathrobe and offered her alcohol when she was just 17-years-old, according to People. The now 44-year-old star writes that when she was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel, she assumed it would be in a conference room, but she was told to go to his room.

“I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him. After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left, uneasy but unscathed,” the post says.

Years later, Beckinsale writes that Weinstein could not remember “if he had assaulted me or not” because he asked if anything had happened between the two of them during their first meting, reports People. 

I was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel when I was 17. I assumed it would be in a conference room which was very common.When I arrived ,reception told me to go to his room . He opened the door in his bathrobe . I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older ,unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him .After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left ,uneasy but unscathed.A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting .I realized he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not .I had what I thought were boundaries – I said no to him professionally many times over the years-some of which ended up with him screaming at me calling me a cunt and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people oh “Kate lives to say no to me .” It speaks to the status quo in this business that I was aware that standing up for myself and saying no to things,while it did allow me to feel uncompromised in myself,undoubtedly harmed my career and was never something I felt supported by anyone other than my family.I would like to applaud the women who have come forward , and to pledge that we can from this create a new paradigm where producers,managers,executives and assistants and everyone who has in the past shrugged and said ” well, that’s just Harvey /Mr X/insert name here ” will realize that we in numbers can affect real change.For every moment like this there have been thousands where a vulnerable person has confided outrageous unprofessional behavior and found they have no recourse, due to an atmosphere of fear that it seems almost everyone has been living in .I had a male friend who, based on my experience,warned a young actress who said she was going to dinner with Harvey to be careful. He received a phone call the next day saying he would never work in another Miramax film ;the girl was already sleeping with Harvey and had told him that my friend had warned her off.Let’s stop allowing our young women to be sexual cannon fodder,and let’s remember that Harvey is an emblem of a system that is sick,and that we have work to do.

A post shared by Kate Beckinsale (@katebeckinsale) on Oct 12, 2017 at 6:02am PDT

Beckinsale writes that she then had to reject numerous sexual advances from Weinstein, which often led to angry outbursts from the producer.

“I said no to him professionally many times over the years-some of which ended up with him screaming at me calling me a c— and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people oh ‘Kate lives to say no to me,’” she said.

Beckinsale said these alleged experiences “undoubtedly harmed” her career and was never something she felt supported by anyone other than her family, according to People. She praised the other women who have spoken out about Weinstein’s alleged harassment and assault. She said that she is telling her story to inspire more women to come forward.