Kate Beckinsale receives backlash for opening up about Harvey Weinstein bullying

Kate Beckinsale is the latest actress to come forward with her own disturbing story of being verbally assaulted by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, and although she received support, she's also facing backlash for sharing her story. Following Wednesday’s announcement that Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in jail for the rape and assault of two women, Beckinsale shared her own account of one episode where Weinstein attacked her, leading many to question her motives and why she continued to work with Weinstein.Beckinsale is facing criticism around an event she described this week on Instagram, which took place following the 2001 movie premiere of her romantic film Serendipity. Produced by Weinstein’s Miramax company, the film was scheduled for an October 5 premiere in New York. Beckinsale said the cast and crew wanted to cancel the premiere, which was scheduled for less than one month after 9/11. “We all refused to go because holding a premiere mere weeks after 9/11 with the city still smoking felt like the most insensitive, tone deaf, disrespectful idea possible. But Harvey insisted. We flew into New York and somehow got through it,” writes Beckinsale.[video_embed id='1919770']RELATED: Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison[/video_embed]The actress said she received a call from the Hollywood producer the following day, inviting her to his house so their young daughters could have a playdate. “I turned up and he immediately called for his nanny to take the babies to another room to play. I went to go with them and he said ‘No, you wait here.’ The minute the door closed he started screaming.” Beckinsale described in detail the crass and degrading language used by Weinstein, who was enraged that she wore a suit to the red carpet instead of a tight, revealing dress. "If I am throwing a red carpet you get in a tight dress, you shake your a-- you shake your t---," Beckinsale quoted Weinstein as saying.“I managed to get myself and my child out of there and yes that was one of many experiences I had that there was no recourse for and falls under no felony. But I WAS punished for it, and for other instances where I said no to him for years, insidiously and seeming irreversibly,” she wrote.Her story was met with criticism, with many Instagram commenters questioning why she would bring her child to the home of a man she knew was inappropriate and verbally abusive. Beckinsale has now responded to the backlash, writing “He was my boss. He had not so far been abusive nor had I seen any evidence on the one movie I did with him. He couched it as a play date for our kids. I had no idea it wasn’t that or that I had done anything that could be perceived as wrong.”When another commentator wrote that Beckinsale was one of the people who chose to not come forward with her allegations against Weinstein and instead prioritize fame and money over the safety of others, the actress firmly responded.“No, it was more that the very aggression and attitude you have, without a climate of change fought for by women who endured much more serious abuse would have done and did NOTHING.”[video_embed id='5607352549001']RELATED: Kate Beckinsale said Harvey Weinstein couldn't remember if he assaulted her or not[/video_embed]Many of Beckinsale’s followers also chastised the actress for working with Weinstein a second time after Serendipity when she starred opposite Leonard DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. Beckinsale said that she felt safe on set, writing “It was a wonderful movie to be involved in, I felt in very safe hands with Scorsese, and on movies, I’m not sure if you know, but the head of the studio is rarely on set. I knew I’d barely or never see him and there was no way he would behave like that in front of Scorsese. I felt as safe as I could.”Comparing Weinstein to Ted Bundy, Beckinsale pointed out that one of the reasons the disgraced producer was able to continue his abusive behaviour for so long was because of his dual personalities. “He was also very talented, could be funny, generous, creative,” wrote Beckinsale. “And then absolutely monstrous. If all abusers were just awful all the time I think it would be far less confusing and less painful.”Beckinsale said that like many others, she had to move through an industry that was not going to protect her. “As I have said, given the climate one had to find a balance of preserving ones safety and keeping everything light and professional while making sure one was not ever again in a vulnerable position alone,” she wrote in the comments. “The schizophrenic nature of it is precisely what was so toxic. I’m hoping that more insight and understanding of an impossible environment and the more people relay the unacceptable and yet not technically illegal will start doing something to stamp out people with power treating other people—men and women—abusively.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

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

This isn’t the first time Beckinsale has spoken about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Weinstein. In 2017, the actor shared a picture of herself as a teen when she first arrived in Hollywood. Like many other women who have come forward to share their stories about the producer, from Mira Sorvino to Asia Argento, Lucia Evans and more, Beckinsale said she was invited to a meeting in a hotel room with Weinstein. When she arrived at his room, the then-17-year-old found him in a bathrobe. Weinstein offered the minor alcohol and thankfully, Beckinsale was able to get out of the room before things went further.This would not be the last inappropriate interaction between the pair and Beckinsale said that Weinstein exerted power over her career and many others, including one male friend who tried to warn an actress against meeting with Weinstein, later finding himself barred from all Miramax films. “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.”[video_embed id='1921128']BEFORE YOU GO: Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are spotted in Cuba, as their relationship gets serious[/video_embed]