Uma Thurman Accuses Weinstein of Sexual Assault and Claims Tarantino Almost Killed Her in Stunt Gone Wrong
February 4, 2018 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Uma Thurman has finally come forward to speak out about her alleged experience with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, accusing him of trying to force himself on her and exposing himself in hotel rooms.
Months after going viral for a tense interview in which she carefully declined to speak about Weinstein until she was “ready,” the 47-year-old actress told her story in an interview with Maureen Dowd published on The New York Times on Saturday.
She alleged Weinstein first whipped out his now infamous bathrobe during a meeting in his Paris hotel room during the afterglow of 1994’s Pulp Fiction. There, she claimed he led her down a hallway to a steam room, where she asked him “This is ridiculous, what are you doing?” before he ran out.
“I didn’t feel threatened,” she recalled. “I thought he was being super idiosyncratic, like this was your kooky, eccentric uncle.”
The first alleged “attack” happened at London’s Savoy hotel. “It was such a bat to the head,” she said of the alleged encounter, the exact date of which she did not give. “He pushed me down. He tried to shove himself on me.”
“He tried to expose himself. He did all kinds of unpleasant things. But he didn’t actually put his back into it and force me.”
The next day, she claimed Weinstein sent her a bouquet of yellow roses as a way to apologize. She returned to the hotel to confront him, this time taking with her a male friend for protection who waited downstairs as she went up to his room with his assistants.
“If you do what you did to me to other people you will lose your career, your reputation and your family, I promise you,” she said she told him. In response, she reportedly told her friend afterwards that he had threatened to destroy her career.
A rep for Weinstein told The Times, “She very well could have said this” in response to her threats to expose him. But the rep denied ever delivering an ultimatum about her career.
“Mr. Weinstein acknowledges making a pass at Ms. Thurman in England after misreading her signals in Paris,” the rep said in a statement to The Times, claiming that up until the Paris steam room, they had had “a flirtatious and fun working relationship” and that “he immediately apologized.”
Elsewhere in her chat, Thurman alleged that Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino — who worked closely with her and Weinstein on both projects — forced her to do a stunt in Kill Bill that left her neck “permanently damaged” and her knees “screwed-up.”
She alleged no sexual misconduct against Tarantino, but said the two fought for years before he finally provided Thurman with the footage of the crash.
Thurman also told The Times she felt guilty for all of Weinstein’s alleged victims who followed suit.
“I am one of the reasons that a young girl would walk into his room alone,” she said, explaining how Kill Bill became a symbol of female empowerment. “All these lambs walked into slaughter because they were convinced nobody rises to such a position who would do something illegal to you, but they do. … I stand as both a person who was subjected to it and a person who was then also part of the cloud cover.”
A spokesperson for Weinstein said in a statement to PEOPLE that while Weinstein made “an awkward pass” at Thurman in the past, the producer denied ever physically assaulting the actress.
“We have pulled a number of images that demonstrate the strong relationship Mr. Weinstein and Ms. Thurman had had over the years and we wish the New York Times would have published them, the spokesperson said in a statement. “Mr. Weinstein acknowledges making an awkward pass 25 years ago at Ms. Thurman in England after misreading her signals, after a flirtatious exchange in Paris, for which he immediately apologized and deeply regrets.
“However, her claims about being physically assaulted are untrue,” the rep continued. “And this is the first time we have heard those details. There was no physical contact during Mr. Weinstein’s awkward pass and Mr. Weinstein is saddened and puzzled as to ‘why’ Ms. Thurman, someone he considers a colleague and a friend, waited 25 years to make these allegations public, noting that he and Ms. Thurman have shared a very close and mutually beneficial working relationship where they have made several very successful film projects together.”
“This is the first time we are hearing that she considered Mr. Weinstein an enemy and the pictures of their history tell a completely different story,” the rep said.
Reps for Thurman and Tarantino did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The actress collaborated with Weinstein on seven movies, including her Oscar-nominated role in Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill series. Late last year, she hinted at misconduct claims in an Instagram post on Thanksgiving Day where she promised she would be speaking further soon.
A post shared by Uma Thurman (@ithurman) on Nov 23, 2017 at 12:58pm PST
“I am grateful today, to be alive, for all those I love, and for all those who have the courage to stand up for others,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of herself in Kill Bill. “I said I was angry recently, and I have a few reasons, #metoo, in case you couldn’t tell by the look on my face. I feel it’s important to take your time, be fair, be exact, so… Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (Except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators – I’m glad it’s going slowly – You don’t deserve a bullet) -stay tuned.”
RELATED: Uma Thurman’s Chilling Response to Harvey Weinstein Scandal
When asked about her thoughts on the sexual harassment allegations against him in October, the star was visibly upset as she declined to speak in that moment.
“I don’t have a tidy soundbite for you, because I have learned — I am not a child and I have learned that… when I’ve spoken in anger, I usually regret the way I express myself,” Thurman told Access Hollywood, carefully choosing her words. “So I’ve been waiting to feel less angry… and when I’m ready, I’ll say what I have to say.”
Weinstein, 65, has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 60 women including Cara Delevingne, Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow since The New York Times and The New Yorker documented decades of alleged sexual misconduct and sexual assault involving a number of women in detailed articles last fall.
A spokesperson for Weinstein previously told PEOPLE in a statement that “any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”
