After claiming that disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein verbally abused her following a movie premiere in 2001, actress Kate Beckinsale is defending herself from online backlash.
As The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo reported, Beckinsale said in an Instagram post on Wednesday that Harvey Weinstein called her a “stupid f***ing c***” when she refused to dress sexily for the movie premiere of “Serendipity,” feeling it would be inappropriate in the wake of 9/11. The incident occurred when Weinstein lured Beckinsale to his home with a promise for a playdate with their children.
“The minute the door closed he started screaming ‘you stupid f***ing C***, you C*** you ruined my premiere,’” Beckinsale said of the moment. “I had no idea what he was talking about and started to shake.”
“He said, ‘If I am throwing a red carpet you get in a tight dress, you shake your a** you shake your t*** you do not go down it looking like a f***ing lesbian you stupid f***ing c***,’” the actress continued. “The shock made me burst into tears.”
As noted by Fox News, Beckinsale mostly received an outpouring of support from fellow fans on her Instagram. Some people, however, questioned Beckinsale’s motives.
When one user asked why she went to the play date in the first place, she responded, “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.”
Beckinsale later added that she understands why some people would have questions. “I think she thinks I gaily took my child to a known rapist’s house,” she wrote. “I had no idea what was coming partly because the element of shock and surprise is one of the things he got off on.”
Other users were perplexed that Beckinsale waited so long to tell her story about Weinstein, seemingly unaware of the fact she revealed in 2017 that Weinstein sexually harassed her during a meeting when she was just age 17.
“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 c*nt and making threats, some of which made him laughingly tell people oh ‘Kate lives to say no to me,'” she said at the time.
So, contrary to what some users were saying, Kate Beckinsale has been quite forward about Weinstein’s behavior since The New York Times reported on his behavior.
Another user asked a more nuanced question, one that people will be pondering over for years to come. “Why did America and all the actors and actresses who worked with him glorify him then?” a user asked.
“He was also very talented, could be funny, generous , creative. And then absolutely monstrous,” Beckinsale replied. “If all abusers were just awful all the time I think it would be far less confusing and less painful. Ted Bundy took a minute to catch because he was also other things, you know.”
