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 "For years, he was my monster," Hayek wrote in the opinion piece
in which she included descriptions of sexual harassment,
bullying and threats.
Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for Weinstein, issued a statement on
his behalf on Wednesday night disputing Hayek's account and
calling her allegations of sexual misconduct inaccurate.
More than 50 women have claimed that Weinstein sexually harassed
or assaulted them over the past three decades. Weinstein has
denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.
Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the
accusations against Weinstein.
Hayek's spokeswoman had no immediate comment on Wednesday.
Police in New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and London have
said they are investigating allegations of sexual assault or
rape by Weinstein.
Hayek wrote in the article that she was inspired to share her
experiences after other women came forward. Her account largely
centered around the time she was involved with making the 2002
film, "Frida," in which she portrayed Mexican painter Frida
Kahlo.
Hayek wrote that she was pleased to have the opportunity to work
with Weinstein and Miramax, which he then owned, because it was
"synonymous with quality, sophistication and risk taking in
films." But, she wrote, she found herself rebuffing sexual
advances and requests from Weinstein.
"No to letting him give me oral sex," Hayek wrote as one of
several examples. "And with every refusal came Harvey's
Machiavellian rage."
'NERVOUS BREAKDOWN'
Hayek wrote that Weinstein was threatening to shut down the
production of "Frida" and that he pressured her into doing a sex
scene with another woman in the film. Hayek said that when she
went to film the scene, "... for the first and last time in my
career, I had a nervous breakdown."
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The actress, who called Weinstein a "passionate cinephile, a risk
taker, a patron of talent in film, a loving father and a monster,"
wrote, "I never showed Harvey how terrified I was of him."
"Until there is equality in our industry, with men and women having
the same value in every aspect of it, our community will continue to
be a fertile ground for predators," she wrote.
Baird issued a statement on behalf of Weinstein that disputed
Hayek's version of events.
"Mr. Weinstein regards Salma Hayek as a first-class actress and cast
her in several of his movies, among them 'Once Upon a Time in
Mexico,' 'Dogma,' and 'Studio 54.' He was very proud of her Best
Actress Academy Award nomination for 'Frida' and continues to
support her work," the statement said.
"While Jennifer Lopez was interested in playing Frida and at the
time was a bigger star, Mr. Weinstein overruled other investors to
back Salma as the lead," it said.
The statement also said Miramax put up half of the money in a film
with a budget of more than $12 million, and also noted that there
was "creative friction" on the film, which it said "served to drive
the project to perfection."
"Mr. Weinstein does not recall pressuring Salma to do a gratuitous
sex scene with a female costar and he was not there for the
filming," the statement said. "All of the sexual allegations as
portrayed by Salma are not accurate and others who witnessed the
events have a different account of what transpired."
(Reporting by Chris Kenning; Editing by Ben Klayman and Paul Tait)
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