Actor Matt Damon claimed during an interview Monday that media mogul Harvey Weinstein treated actress Gwyneth Paltrow with respect, following an incident of alleged sexual harassment.
Damon and actor George Clooney sat down for an interview with ABC News on Monday to discuss the Weinstein scandal. While Damon claimed he knew that Weinstein was a “bully,” he said he did not know the full extent of Weinstein’s behavior.
Ben Affleck allegedly told Damon about the famous producer’s unwanted sexual advances to Paltrow. “I never talked to Gwyneth about it. Ben told me … but I knew that … they had come to whatever, you know, agreement or understanding that they had come to, she had handled it,” Damon said. “She was, you know, the first lady of Miramax. And he treated her incredibly respectfully.”
Damon worked with Weinstein for the film “Good Will Hunting” when Weinstein was at “the height of his power.”
“When people say like, ‘Everybody knew,’ Like, yeah,” Damon told ABC News’ Michael Strahan,
“I knew he was an asshole” but did not think Weinstein was a “criminal sexual predation,” Damon said. Paltrow and Damon both worked on “The Talented Mr. Ripley” with Weinstein in 1999.
Paltrow told The New York Times Oct. 10 about Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment. Paltrow, 22 at the time, was the lead for his film “Emma.” She claims she summoned for a work meeting at Weinstein’s hotel room when he asked her for a massage. Her boyfriend at the time, Brad Pitt, allegedly confronted Weinstein, and the producer warned Paltrow not to tell anyone.
Gwneyth Paltrow also shared lighthearted jokes about Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse on the “Late Show With David Letterman” in 1998.
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