13 December 2017
Newsdesk
Actresses Kerry Washington, Rose McGowan, and Olivia Wilde have applauded Salma Hayek for sharing her story of alleged sexual harassment at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.
The Desperado star has penned an op-ed for The New York Times, published on Wednesday (13Dec17), detailing how the disgraced movie mogul allegedly tried to sabotage her 2002 film Frida after she spurned his advances.
In the article, Salma recalled witnessing his "Machiavellian rage" as he tried to derail her Frida Kahlo biopic, and revealed how she suffered a "nervous breakdown" on set after agreeing to film a nude sex scene with another woman at Weinstein's demand in a desperate bid to save her passion project.
Her harrowing experience struck a chord with her fellow actresses, and Kerry Washington was among the first to heap praise on Salma via social media.
Taking to Twitter to share a link to the piece, the Scandal star wrote, "My dear @salmahayek Thank you for your courage. In art. In activism. In life. And in this extraordinary piece."
Rose McGowan, who is among a number of women who have accused Weinstein of rape, expressed her sympathy and understanding as she reached out to the Mexican beauty.
"Salma, I'd heard whispers for years. I'm so sorry they were true," she tweeted. "All we wanted to do was create art and put food on the table. That's it. Instead, we got the Monster from Hell. We deserved so much more from those we paid to protect us. Love to you."
Olivia Wilde was left speechless after reading the article, simply posting, "Wow. Thank you, @salmahayek," while Daryl Hannah added, "bring on the shift, a culture shift", and former Dawson's Creek actress Busy Philipps wrote, "This story had me in tears. Thank you @salmahayek for your bravery & beautifully sharing this."
"This is a POWERFUL story by my friend, Salma Hayek," Oscar winner Marlee Matlin proudly declared. "Bravo, @salmahayek. Your truth speaks a THOUSAND words and should reinforce the idea that no woman should stay silent."
Hayek is the latest high-profile actress to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct. He first hit headlines in October (17) when he became the subject of a New York Times expose, in which a string of women, including Salma's Frida co-star Ashley Judd, slammed the producer for decades of inappropriate behaviour.
He has acknowledged behaving badly in the past, but has vehemently denied any claims of non-consensual sex.
