(Harvey Weinstein: Screengrab)
In a exclusive statement sent to the Huffington Post, Academy Award winner Meryl Streep called the alleged sexual harassment by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein “disgraceful,” “inexcusable,” and an “abuse of power.” She also called the women who have spoken out against him “heroes.”
Streep worked for years with Weinstein on films like "The Iron Lady," "Doubt," and “August: Osage County," and once jokingly referred to Weinstein as “God."
In her statement Streep said Weinstein was engaging in “inappropriate, coercive acts.”
Streep’s statement comes four days after a story in the New York Times detailed decades of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse involving Weinstein, a producer who is heavily involved in Democratic politics. On Sunday, the board of directors of the Weinstein Company terminated him citing “new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days.”
Streep's statement in full:
The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.
One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew. Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally. I didn’t know about these other offenses: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts. And If everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.
The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.”
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