Not all heroes wear capes. Gwyneth Paltrow praised ex-boyfriend Brad Pitt for protecting her after Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed her when she was 22 years old.
The Goop founder, 45, appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday, May 23, when she described what led up to the World War Z actor confronting the disgraced director in 1995. Following the actress signing on to star in Emma and Shakespeare in Love, the Miramax mogul allegedly tried to lure Paltrow into his Beverly Hills hotel room and asked for a massage.
After Paltrow confided in her then-boyfriend, an enraged Pitt — who she dated for three years before the pair split for good in 1997 — approached him on the on the opening night of a Broadway’s Hamlet.
”He told me exactly what he said,” she recounted. “He said, ‘If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I’ll kill you.’ It was great.”
The Iron Man star, who admits she was “shaken by the whole thing,” also told Stern, “It was the equivalent of throwing him against the wall, energetically,” Paltrow said. “He leveraged his fame and power to protect me at a time when I didn’t have fame or power yet … he’s the best.”
Added Paltrow: “I love him for this.”
This isn’t the first time the It’s All Good author has spoken out about the incident. Paltrow previously told The New York Times in October that she was scared Weinstein was going to fire her after Pitt “very clearly and strongly and unequivocally” confronted the businessman. Paltrow also revealed that the producer told her not to tell anyone about the incident and “screamed” at her for “a for a long time.”
“It was brutal … I was expected to keep the secret,” she told the publication.
Paltrow publicly came forward with her accusation after the Times published multiple sexual harassment allegations made by actresses against Weinstein. The producer was subsequently fired from his own company — and shortly afterward entered treatment in a rehab facility. At the time, his spokesperson denied the allegations, saying in a statement to Us Weekly, “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.”
