GettyCara Delevingne has come forward and revealed details of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.
The model-turned-actor has told how the founder of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, shamed her for her sexuality and sexually harassed her, leaving the up-and-coming film talent feeling ‘very powerless and scared’.
Her revelations come days after Weinstein was fired over allegations of sexual abuse, dating back throughout his career, which could land him five to 25 years in prison on sexual assault charges if tried in criminal court.
In an Instagram post, Cara recalled a horrifying encounter with Weinstein:
When I first started to work as an actress, I was working on a film and I received a call from Harvey Weinstein asking if I had slept with any of the women I was seen out with in the media. It was a very odd and uncomfortable call…
I answered none of his questions and hurried off the phone but before I hung up, he said to me that if I was gay or decided to be with a woman especially in public that I’d never get the role of a straight woman or make it as an actress in Hollywood.
Cara continued:
A year or two later, I went to a meeting with him in the lobby of a hotel with a director about an upcoming film. The director left the meeting and Harvey asked me to stay and chat with him.
As soon as we were alone he began to brag about all the actresses he had slept with and how he had made their careers and spoke about other inappropriate things of a sexual nature. He then invited me to his room.
Weinstein, in conversation with Gutierrez, admits to groping her. Here’s the audio: https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c pic.twitter.com/vmrrSUp43w
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) October 10, 2017
She declined but added she felt ‘powerless’:
I quickly declined and asked his assistant if my car was outside. She said it wasn’t and wouldn’t be for a bit and I should go to his room. At that moment I felt very powerless and scared but didn’t want to act that way hoping that I was wrong about the situation.
When I arrived I was relieved to find another woman in his room and thought immediately I was safe. He asked us to kiss and she began some sort of advances upon his direction.
How Cara responded was both brave and quick-thinking:
I swiftly got up and asked him if he knew that I could sing. And I began to sing… I thought it would make the situation better… more professional… like an audition… I was so nervous.
After singing I said again that I had to leave. He walked me to the door and stood in front of it and tried to kiss me on the lips. I stopped him and managed to get out of the room.
Describing the aftermath and the impact on her career, Cara recalled:
I still got the part for the film and always thought that he gave it to me because of what happened.
Since then I felt awful that I did the movie. I felt like I didn’t deserve the part.
Emotionally, the strain of this traumatic experience is palpable as Cara explains her silence:
I was so hesitant about speaking out… I didn’t want to hurt his family.
I felt guilty as if I did something wrong.
I was also terrified that this sort of thing had happened to so many women I know but no one had said anything because of fear.
Weinstein, the 65-year-old producer whose net worth is an estimated $200 million, ‘unequivocally denied’ claims of non-consensual sex set out in the New Yorker, yet apologised for causing ‘pain’, adding he is now in sexual addiction counselling.
Cara’s brave statement just goes to show how a culture of silence can poison the system, leaving terrible emotional scars on the alleged victims of loathsome and powerful figures like Weinstein.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.