Winona Ryder reveals uncomfortable encounter with Harvey Weinstein
Hollywood actor Winona Ryder has reflected on an encounter with Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced former film producer and convicted sex offender who is currently in prison. Ryder shared how a run-in with the producer in the late 1990s and early ’00s made her worry for her career.
In the late 1970s, Weinstein and his brother Bob started Miramax, an independent film distribution company. Over time, the operation grew into one of the most powerful companies in the film industry, evolving from independent and arthouse movies into huge blockbusters.
However, the more power Weinstein had, the more he was able to abuse it. In 2017, victims began coming forward about their experience with him, and more than a dozen people quickly made accusations.
Over time, this number swelled to more than 100 people who came forward to report incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Amongst these were major names like Rose McGowan, Gweneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie and more. In all these cases, Weinstein used his power to manipulate and silence his victims, including threatening to blacklist actors.
Now, Ryder has spoken about her own experience with the criminal. “The one time I was supposed to have a meeting with [Harvey Weinstein], I went to the Miramax office and I extended my hand and he shook my hand and I sat on the couch and we had a conversation and I left,” Ryder said to Esquire.
“And [afterwards] I got like screamed at [by an agent]. ‘What the fuck did you do?’ I was like, ‘What?’ Apparently, I offended him because I extended my hand?… I guess,” Ryder continued.
Given the power Weinstein held and the reputation he was gaining for throwing this power around and using it against people who didn’t bend to his will, the possibility of getting on his bad side was a worry for Ryder.
Ryder previously already worked with Miramax at this point on the 1993 film The House of the Spirits. On set, she recalled Weinstein banging on her trailer door and demanding to cast her in a film adaptation of the stage play Little Voice.
“And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just saw that in London,’” Ryder said. “I was like, ‘You have to cast that girl [from the play], Jane Horrocks. She’s fucking amazing.’ And he got very weird and he left.”
“He did not like me,” Ryder concluded. While she didn’t experience any sexual assault or harassment at the hands of Weinstein, it was clear that he didn’t like her foreright and confident nature, expecting her to behave like his inferior rather than being vocal about her opinions or unafraid of his status.
However, issues in Hollywood stretch beyond Weinstein, as Ryder had experiences with “a couple of people who were just blatantly sexually harassing me.”
“It wasn’t an assault. But it was incredibly inappropriate,” Ryder said. “It was wild. I really understand [what the victims of Weinstein and others went through]. I was lucky because I was known, so it didn’t happen as much as maybe it would if I had been a struggling actor. But I remember this feeling in your mind: you’re negotiating, you’re thinking about what’s going to happen if you say something. You’re working it out while this person is being extremely creepy.”
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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