Gwyneth Paltrow claims shamed media mogul, Harvey Weinstein made moves on her and Brad Pitt confronted him

Last week, the New York Times published a piece outlining the sexual abuse accusations leveled against the movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein. Now, more celebrities who were his victims are now speaking up, including Gwyneth Paltrow.
Gwyneth Paltrow claims she was sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein at age 22 and her then-boyfriend, Brad Pitt confronted him about it but he became aggressive towards Pitt.

Gwyneth told the New York Times the incident happened in the mid-'90s. Weinstein had just cast her in a role in the movie "Emma" and she had a meeting scheduled with Weinstein at the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel.

Paltrow says she was in a hotel suite with Weinstein when he placed his hands on her and suggested they head to the bedroom. Paltrow says she immediately left and said to herself, "I thought you were my Uncle Harvey". Later, she confided in Brad Pitt and he approached Weinstein at a movie premiere and told him never to touch her again. Paltrow says Weinstein later called her and screamed at her for a long time and she feared she was going to lose the movie role.

"I was a kid," the 45-year-old actress said. "I was signed up. I was petrified."

Weinstein has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting women, especially young women in Hollywood. Three women, including the Italian actress Asia Argento and a former aspiring actress named Lucia Evans, said that Weinstein had raped them. The allegations against Weinstein include him forcibly performing or receiving oral sex and forcing vaginal sex. Four women said that they experienced unwanted touching that could be classified as an assault.

Some have called the allegations against Weinstein an open secret – a secret that seems to have been kept by a mix of shame and fear of retribution. Argento, the Italian actress, said that Weinstein had forcibly performed oral sex on her, but that she was scared of speaking up for fear that he would "crush" her. She said, "he had crushed a lot of people before."

The allegations of sexual harassment and assault come from women who were often in their early or mid-20s, and who felt intimidated by Weinstein's power.