Madonna claims Harvey Weinstein 'crossed lines and boundaries' with her

6 June 2019

Madonna claims Harvey Weinstein "crossed lines and boundaries" with her and was "incredibly sexually flirtatious and forward".

Madonna

The 60-year-old singer's 1991 documentary 'Truth or Dare' was distributed by Miramax - owned by Weinstein and his brother at the time - and the 'Like a Prayer' hitmaker alleges the disgraced movie producer acted in the same way to "a lot of other women" in the industry, but says people "put up with it" because he was in such a powerful position.

She said: "Harvey crossed lines and boundaries and was incredibly sexually flirtatious and forward with me when we were working together; he was married at the time, and I certainly wasn't interested.

"I was aware that he did the same with a lot of other women that I knew in the business.

"And we were all, 'Harvey gets to do that because he's got so much power and he's so successful and his movies do so well and everybody wants to work with him, so you have to put up with it.' So that was it."

Madonna claims the movie mogul has been "abusing his power for so many years", and she thought "finally" when she heard a number of people had come forward in October 2017 accusing him of sexual misconduct, which resulted in him being kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Speaking to The New York Times Magazine, she added: "So when it happened, I was really like, 'Finally'.

"I wasn't cheering from the rafters because I'm never going to cheer for someone's demise. I don't think that's good karma anyway.

"But it was good that somebody who had been abusing his power for so many years was called out and held accountable."

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 50 people, and he was recently said to have reached a "tentative" deal with his sexual abuse accusers to pay $44 million in compensation.

Lawyer Adam Harris, who is acting for The Weinstein Company co-founder Bob Weinstein, told a bankruptcy court judge: "We now have an economic agreement in principal that is supported by the plaintiffs, the [New York attorney general's] office, the defendants and all of the insurers that, if approved, would provide significant compensation to victims, creditors and the estate and allow the parties to avoid years of costly, time consuming and uncertain litigation on all sides.

"There is [still] a lot of work here to do. But I personally am very optimistic."

Weinstein faces criminal charges including rape and performing a forcible sex act. He denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Eva Green, one of a number of women who has claimed to be a victim of Weinstein's alleged unwanted sexual advances, - recently described his fall from grace as a "miracle".

She said: "He was like a god. He could make you, destroy you. You think, maybe something will change - I could win an Oscar.

"So the first time you meet him you feel privileged. But what happened [to him] is a miracle. There is justice. But you know, there are a***holes everywhere, in every field."