Actress Ashley Judd described disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s sexual advances toward her, which she said she escaped by making a deal.
She was a rising young actress two decades ago who had arrived at the hotel suite of this powerful film mogul for what she thought would be a business meeting.
It wasn’t, she said in her first on-camera recounting of the incident, which aired Thursday on Good Morning America (GMA). Judd’s account of the incident three weeks ago in The New York Times was a key factor in Weinstein’s downfall, and opened the door to an avalanche of harassment allegations against Weinstein and others and a broader cultural discussion of how women are treated in the workplace and beyond.
NBC suspended Mark Halperin on Thursday after CNN reported on the claims of five women who said the political journalist harassed them while he was an ABC News executive. Halperin, who co-authored the best-seller Game Change, apologized Wednesday for what he called inappropriate behavior. And former Fox News host and best-selling author Bill O’Reilly, who was forced out of the network in April after sexual harassment allegations, saw his literary agency cut ties with him.
Fallout continues to Weinstein and the film production company he co-founded. The Lexus luxury vehicle brand said Thursday it was ending its partnership with The Weinstein Co., which included sponsorship and product placement in company’s Project Runway television show.