Jennifer Esposito’s career was nearly cut short by a “Harvey Weinstein-esque person”.
Jennifer Esposito’s career was nearly cut short by a ‘Harvey Weinstein-esque person’
The ‘Crash’ actress and filmmaker, 51, did not name the man, but branded him a “notorious” and “brutal” producer and accused him of spreading lies about her as part of a mission to derail her path to fame when she was only 26.
She told the ‘She Pivots’ podcast: “He fired me for no reason. He wanted someone else and he got her.”
Jennifer also told the show’s lawyer host Emily Tisch Sussman the producer discouraged others who wanted to hire her, and added about his lies: “He said I was a drug addict – (that) never happened.
“(He) had the power and used it to completely end a young girl’s career at 26 years old.”
Jennifer added she was dropped by her agency in the wake of the producer’s lies, and said staff there knew about the unfair treatment but told her they couldn’t help.
She went on: “I casually got moved to the desk of the assistant and then casually (shoved) out the door, and I couldn’t get work.
“I didn’t have an agent and a manager for two-and-a-half years.”
Jennifer has just finished writing, directing and starring in ‘Fresh Kills’, a crime drama that marks her feature-length filmmaking debut, and said without the hard time she endured at the hands of the producer early in her career she may not have achieved the feat.
Referring to her 26-year-old self, she added the project “really was” dedicated “to that kid”.
She added: “It was a hard time. But it was also a beautiful time. Because if I wasn’t that kid, I would have never been this woman.
“And I’m very proud of who I am and very proud of what I’ve done.
“I know for a fact that if that didn’t happen with that producer and my road had been easier, I would have never written and directed what I just did.
“I gave her her career back in the way that she could do it. Not the way someone else told me I could do it. I needed to right the wrong again.”
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