"He was my monster": Salma Hayek alleges Weinstein sexual misconduct
Salma Hayek on Wednesday joined the scores of actresses to accuse Harvey Weinstein, alleging that the fallen Hollywood mogul sexually harassed her, subjected her to escalating rage and once threatened to kill her.
"For years, he was my monster," the Mexican-born star wrote in an essay published in The New York Times, detailing the torturous production of the 2002 movie Frida - a critically acclaimed biopic about the life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo - that eventually earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
After reaching a deal for Weinstein to pay for the rights to the movie, the 51-year-old producer said it became "my turn to say no".
"No to opening the door to him at all hours of the night, hotel after hotel, location after location," she wrote.
"No to me taking a shower with him. No to letting him watch me take a shower. No to letting him give me a massage. No to letting a naked friend of his give me a massage. No to letting him give me oral sex. No to my getting naked with another woman."
Weinstein's "Machiavellian rage" accompanied every refusal and once included "the terrifying words, 'I will kill you, don't think I can't'," she said.
After jumping through hoops of impossible demands set by Weinstein to keep the movie on track, Hayek said the sexual harassment stopped once filming began "but the rage escalated". He berated her performance and demanded "full-frontal nudity", she added.
When the movie was finished, he allegedly said it was not good enough for theatrical release and threatened to send it straight to video.
Weinstein's spokesman issued a statement on his behalf on Wednesday night disputing Hayek's account. - AFP
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