If and when Harvey Weinstein decides to try and return to Hollywood for a comeback, he won’t find too many friendly faces welcoming him. On the business end, almost anybody with a project associated with The Weinstein Company is trying to sever ties. Heyday Films and StudioCanal are trying to reclaim “Paddington 2,” one of the movies Bob Weinstein recently said was the next release from the company. On the talent side, the disgust for Harvey Weinstein has been wide-reaching, and even longtime friend and collaborator Quentin Tarantino has owned up that he could’ve done more about what he heard around the campfire. Now, two more famous faces are turning their backs publicly.
Doing the promotional run for “Suburbicon,” George Clooney and Matt Damon addressed the Harvey Weinstein saga on “Good Morning America.” Damon, whose career was made by Weinstein with “Good Will Hunting,” and starred in a handful of movies produced by the mogul, says that while he knew the man’s reputation, he never fathomed just how far it went.
“I knew the story about Gwyneth [Paltrow‘s harassment by Harvey Weinstein] from Ben [Affleck] because he was with her after Brad [Pitt],” Damon said, adding: “I knew he was a womanizer. I wouldn’t want to be married to the guy. But the criminal sexual predation is not something that I ever thought was going on. Absolutely not.”
Clooney said that he knew about Weinstein and the various affairs he was having with actresses that were friends of the actor, and while he didn’t quite believe the gossip, finding out now “that this predator, this assaulter was out there silencing women like that, it’s beyond infuriating.”
It’s a common refrain coming out now, that while Weinstein’s reputation was known, the monstrousness of what he was actually doing was kept secret from many. Watch the full segment here.