Kate Beckinsale says she was ‘psychologically tortured’ by Harvey Weinstein, and experienced ‘backlash’ for standing up to him

British actor previously said she was called a ‘f***ing ​stupid c***’ by Weinstein following a film premiere in 2001

Kate Beckinsale has suggested she experienced professional “backlash” after standing up against the demands of convicted rapist and former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

The British actor revealed on her Instagram in March that she was told to “shake her ass” at a movie premiere by Weinstein, and “not look like a lesbian” while promoting the 2001 romcom Serendipity, which he had produced. Elaborating further in a new interview, Beckinsale said that he “psychologically tortured” and “bullied” her on countless occasions.

“I was never sexually attacked by Harvey,” Beckinsale told Vulture. “There was never a sexual component. But there was really extreme bullying. And that’s not just Harvey. I have eight or nine anecdotes I could have said about Harvey, and countless I could have said about other people.”

She explained that the kind of bullying she experienced “isn’t prosecutable or a crime”, but that it warrants “addressing”.

“Somebody hauling out their penis — you have a bit more of a plan of what to do,” she continued. “But somebody sort of psychologically torturing you or bullying you, there’s still no real plan there. You’re still expected to suck it up. And I don’t think anyone should — men, women, anyone.”

Beckinsale also said that she believed she experienced professional backlash due to her encounters with Weinstein.

“I think there are a lot of women in this industry who said no to all sorts of things — and I don’t just mean sexually — and suddenly found that the cover of the magazine they were going to do fell apart, or the movie that they were going to do fell away,” she said. “There was backlash. Just like with any bully. It only takes one phone call to go, ‘Don’t hire her.’

“If somebody has a vindictive agenda or feels you’ve overstepped by saying no, it’s just one or two phone calls to cause you real trouble. It’s not a huge effort.”

In the wake of her March Instagram post, Beckinsale defended her decision to continue working with Weinstein despite being bullied by him.

“He was also very talented, could be funny, generous, creative,” she wrote. “And then absolutely monstrous. If all abusers were just awful all the time I think it would be far less confusing and less painful. Ted Bundy took a minute to catch because he was also other things, you know.”