Actress Ashley Judd described the bargain she made to escape producer Harvey Weinstein’s hotel room and his alleged sexual harassment, in an interview on Thursday with Good Morning America.
“He just kept coming at me with all this other stuff,” she explained to journalist Diane Sawyer. “Finally, I just said, ‘When I win an Oscar in one of your movies, okay?’ He said, ‘When you get nominated.’ I said, ‘No, when I win an Oscar.’ And then I just fled.”
It was Judd’s first televised interview since the bombshell New York Time s and New Yorker reports were published earlier this month, detailing accounts of alleged sexual assault and sexual harassment by Weinstein. Judd was one of the first high-profile actresses to speak on the record about Weinstein’s alleged misconduct.
In the Times article, Judd details a 1997 breakfast meeting she had with Weinstein at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills, while she was filming Kiss theGirls. She remembered being nervous that it was in his hotel room, rather than on the patio, and allegedly found him dressed in only a bathrobe.
Judd explained the shame she felt after making the bargain to escape Weinstein’s room.
“I think, you know, am I proud of that? I’m of two minds,” Judd said. “The part that shames myself says no. The part of me that understands the way shame works says ‘that was absolutely brilliant, good job, kid. You got out of there. Well done.’ ”
Since the initial reports were published about Weinstein, more than 60 women have come forward with allegations—including actresses Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The accusations also sparked a resurgence of the #MeToo campaign, when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted out a request for women to share the words “me too” if they had experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault.
Weinstein was ousted from The Weinstein Company, where he served as co-chairman with his brother Bob Weinstein. Following the Times article Weinstein released a statement apologizing for his behavior, saying that he knows his behavior in the past “has caused a lot of pain,” and saying that “though I’m to do better, I know I have along way to go.”
In a response to the allegations of sexual assault, his team told CNN: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”
For her part Judd said on Good Morning America, that “it’s been an absolutely tremendously moving two and a half or three weeks,” seeing all of these woman come forward. And while she said she can’t forgive him for what he allegedly did to women—and she said he should go to jail if the sexual assault allegations prove true—she believes there is “hope and help” for everyone.
She said she’d tell Weinstein: “‘I love you, and I understand that you are sick and suffering, and there is help for a guy like you, too. And it’s entirely up to you to get that help.'”
Police are currently investigating Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct in London, New York, and Los Angeles. Earlier this week, New York Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman announced that the state would open a civil rights investigation into The Weinstein Company.
Coins2Day reached out to The Weinstein Company for comment and will update as necessary.