Filmmaker Kevin Smith has pledged to donate the residuals from his Weinstein backed movies to Women In Film, a non-profit organisation which supports women in the filmmaking industry.
47-year-old Kevin has had a long association with Harvey Weinstein – Miramax bought the distribution rights to his cult classic Clerks back in the 1990s, kick-starting his highly successful Hollywood career.
Miramax also distributed many of Kevin’s other well known films, including Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl.
However, he now feels ‘ashamed’ of his association and wishes he’d never got involved with the company.
Writing on Twitter, Kevin spoke about his feelings in the wake of the allegations:
He financed the first 14 years of my career – and now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed.
Speaking frankly on his celebrity and movie news podcast Hollywood Babble-On, Kevin appeared disturbed by the way his career has been tied up with Weinstein and Miramax:
I just wanted to make some f*cking movies, that’s it… And no f*cking movie is worth all this. Like, my entire career, f*ck it, take it.
It’s wrapped up in something really f*cking horrible.
When somebody in the audience shouted out how it wasn’t his fault, Kevin was quick to admit he feels he could’ve done more.
Although the director made it clear he had no knowledge of the alleged incidents involving Weinstein, he still feels some degree of guilt and responsibility:
I know it’s not my fault, but I didn’t f*cking help.
Because I sat out there talking about this man like he was a hero, like he was my friend, like he was my father and sh*t like that, and he changed my f*cking life.
And I showed other people, like, ‘You can dream, and you can make stuff, and this man will put it out.’ I was singing praises of somebody that I didn’t f*cking know.
I didn’t know the man that they keep talking about in the press – clearly he exists, but that man never showed himself to me.
According to Vulture, Kevin has now promised to donate all future residuals from his Miramax backed films to Women In Film.
In the event of the Weinstein company collapsing and the films dropping in value, the outspoken filmmaker has generously pledged to donate a monthly sum of $2,000 to the charity for the remainder of his life.
According to Kevin, the donation ‘feels like a start’:
Hopefully that goes to people that get to make sh*t without having to deal with some f*cking animal saying, ‘Here’s the price.’
Women In Film have released a statement about the Harvey Weinstein allegations, urging men to stand up and be ‘allies’ to women who have experienced sexual assault and harassment:
Women need allies. We need our male colleagues – who have mothers, sisters, daughters and friends – to step up and speak out now and whenever they are witness to discrimination of any kind.
You can make a donation to Women In Film through their website.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.