Brad Pitt 'threatened to kill' Harvey Weinstein over alleged Gwyneth Paltrow assault

'He leveraged his fame and power to protect me at a time when I didn’t have fame or power yet'

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 24 May 2018 15:22 BST
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Brad Pitt is claimed to have threatened to kill Harvey Weinstein for allegedly sexually harassing Gwyneth Paltrow when she was 22 years old.

Paltrow made the allegations against the disgraced producer, claiming he had inappropriately placed his hands on her during a “work meeting” in a Los Angeles hotel shortly after she was hired to play the lead role in Jane Austen adaptation Emma in 1994.

In The New York Times article, Paltrow revealed she had told her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt who later confronted Weinstein. Speaking on The Howard Stern Show, the actor has elaborated upon the confrontation which occurred at the opening of Hamlet starring Ralph Fiennes on Broadway in 1995.

According to Paltrow, Pitt - whose film credits at the time included Interview with the Vampire, Twelve Monkeys and Seven - told Weinstein: “If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I’ll kill you.”

Paltrow told Stern: “It was the equivalent of throwing him against the wall, energetically. It was so fantastic... 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.”

The Oscar-winning star previously told how she feared her career would end after rejecting Weinstein's alleged advances. She said: “I thought he was going to fire me. He screamed at me for a long time. It was brutal... I was expected to keep the secret.”

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women but has denied all allegations of non-consensual behaviour.

You can listen to the full exchange here.

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