Gwyneth Paltrow was one of the first actresses to help New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor with their investigation of Harvey Weinstein, which in 2017 reignited the Me Too movement and prompted over 80 women to come forward with their stories of sexual assault and harassment against the disgraced film producer. But two years on, Paltrow is still coming to terms with her relationship with Weinstein, who gave her her first major role in Emma in 1997 and was instrumental in shaping her acting career.
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Acknowledging that she didn’t even think she was consciously aware of how Weinstein’s behaviour had impacted her or how it might have influenced her eventual shift towards the wellness industry, she said, “It’s something that I’ve been processing over the last year or so. I don’t even think I was aware that it possibly could have tarnished the way I viewed my first career."
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“I don’t like to be binary about people and things,” she added while speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook Conference. “He gave me an incredible opportunity — and yet during that time, we had a very, very fraught, complicated relationship.”
“The postscript to that chapter of my life is where it gets extremely complicated for me,” she continued, alluding to how Weinstein kept details of his misconduct under wraps and allegedly used Paltrow's name and illustrous career as an example of what other women could have.
“Information came to light about who he was and how he was behaving that I didn't know during my already very difficult time with him. So I'm not sure. I'm not sure how I feel.”
“There's a spectrum — but it does seem to me, for the more egregious offenders, that really loss of power is what keeps them from further offending,” Paltrow said. “So if they don't have the power, then they lose that dynamic and then the game's over.”
Paltrow accused Weinstein of making advances at her during a meeting meant to discuss her starring role in Emma. She refused his advances, however, says she "was petrified." She revealed she told Brad Pitt what had happened (her boyfriend at the time whom she dated from 1994-1997) and he confronted Weinstein. Weinstein then threatened Paltrow not to tell anyone else.
"I thought he was going to fire me," she said at the time.
