Big celebrities of Hollywood are still castigating the former producer Harvey Weinstein who is being accused of sexual harassment and assault by over 80 women.
On Wednesday, actress Gwyneth Paltrow told The New York Times, she also got to know about accounts of Weinstein allegedly telling the women he had slept with her in order to convince other women to sleep with him. The actress said she rejected the former mogul’s advances he made on her when she was 22-year-old.
“He’s not the first person to lie about sleeping with someone,” she continued. “But he used the lie as an assault weapon.”
At The Massachusetts Conference for Women in Boston Thursday, the Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep spoke out about the Weinstein scandal. She shared the stage with a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement, Gloria Steinem.
The 68-year-old actress said, the accusations now disgraced producer Weinstein faces are “the most gargantuan example of disrespect” in all industries.
She also added that she and her fellow actresses, plan to write a set of “non-negotiable” in the wake of multiple sexual assault scandals.
According to Streep, the lack of women participation in powerful positions affects decision making. She said that her female colleagues in the entertainment industry are ready for positive changes in the workplace which also involves an equal representation in conference and meeting rooms.
She told the conference attendees, “We are after 50/50 by 2020.” She said, “Equal means equal. And if it starts at the top, none of these shenanigans would have filtered down and it wouldn’t have been tolerated.”
Streep has an optimistic point of view that things are changing.
She said, “It’s such an interesting moment, because this conversation about why this is so widespread, this is really worth having and it’s fantastic.” She added, “I can’t help thinking it’s just a door that’s opening to a better world.”