After a slew of allegations surfaced against Harvey Weinstein, accusing him of engaging in sexual misconduct with actresses and women working for his company, Georgina Chapman has announced that she is leaving her husband of 10 years.
Despite an initial statement from Weinstein earlier this week claiming that his wife is dedicated to standing by him, Chapman released a statement of her own, explaining that she’s leaving her husband and named the recent sexual assault allegations as the cause.
“My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband. Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time,” her statement read.
Weinstein, 65, and Chapman, 41, married in 2007 and have two children together.
On Sunday, Weinstein was fired from his film studio and reportedly started counseling to help him “turn over a new leaf” regarding the way he treats women. The news came on the same day that The New Yorker posted a follow up to an exposé from The New York Times in which Weinstein was accused by several women of harassing them by using his position as leverage. Three women are accusing him of rape, including filmmaker Asia Argento.
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Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie detail ‘unacceptable’ encounters with Harvey Weinstein
Oscar winners Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie have revealed that they, too, were victimized by disgraced Miramax and Weinstein Co. mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein was credited with helping to launch Paltrow’s career, aiding in her Oscar win for “Shakespeare in Love” and turning her into the “first lady of Miramax.”
Before that, though, Paltrow claimed that the film producer assaulted her when she was 22 after he summoned her to his hotel suite at the Peninsula Beverly Hills for a work meeting about 1996’s “Emma.” There, he placed his hands on her and suggested they go to the bedroom for massages — a story that has been echoed by several Weinstein accusers.
“I was a kid. I was signed up; I was petrified,” she told the New York Times, which last week exposed decades of sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein. He was fired from his namesake studio Sunday despite taking a leave of absence and issuing a bizarre public apology.
Paltrow said that she confided in her boyfriend at the time, actor Brad Pitt, who later confronted the producer. But Weinstein threatened to fire the Goop founder if she talked about it again.
“He screamed at me for a long time,” she said. “It was brutal.”
Jolie, who starred in Miramax’s “Playing By Heart” (1998), “Pulp Fiction” star Rosanna Arquette and French actress Judith Godrèche also told similar tales, the New York Times said.
“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did,” Jolie told the outlet. “This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable.”
Those stories came just as the New Yorker published a report on Tuesday detailing more victims’ stories, some of which included allegations of rape. In the report, Weinstein’s spokeswoman, Sallie Hofmeister, denied the allegations of non-consensual sex and that Weinstein retaliated against women for refusing his advances.
“Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual,” she said. “Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.”
Several well-known celebs have publicly decried Weinstein’s actions. Actors Jennifer Lawrence, George Clooney and Ben Affleck excoriated the disgraced movie producer on Monday and Tuesday, as did Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and Julianne Moore.
