Oliver Stone has weighed in on Harvey Weinstein amid the growing allegations of sexual assault against his rival producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. During the Busan International Film Festival on Friday, Stone told reporters that “I’m a believer that you wait until this thing gets to trial.”
Stone, who is a chair of the festival’s competition jury, declined to denounce Weinstein. “I believe a man shouldn’t be condemned by a vigilante system,” he continued. “It’s not easy what he’s going through, either. During that period he was a rival. I never did business with him and didn’t really know him.”
Since The New York Times published its explosive exposé last Thursday, which detailed the Hollywood mogul’s alleged, decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct towards women within and connected to the film industry, many more actresses have come forward to detail their own experiences, including Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow. On Tuesday, The New Yorker published a story that alleged additional sexual assault accusations. Following the stories, he was fired from the Weinstein Company by its Board of Directors, which includes his brother Bob Weinstein.
On Thursday, actress Rose McGowan publicly accused Weinstein of rape. “@jeffbezos I told the head of your studio that HW raped me,” she wrote in one of a series of tweets directed at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. “Over and over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was proof.”
Authorities are now investigating some of the allegations involving Weinstein. London police confirmed they are investigating an allegation of a sexual assault that occurred in the 1980s. “We can confirm the Met have been passed an allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police today,” Metropolitan Police in London told ABC News. The NYPD also confirmed that they were reviewing a claim from model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez that the producer groped her in 2015. At the time, no charges were filed, but the matter has now been reopened for review.
In addition to the recent criminal investigations, organizations associated with the producer are reevaluating their relationships with him, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who are holding an emergency meeting on Saturday to address the scandal. As Deadline notes, the Producers Guild of America will also hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to potentially expel Weinstein from the guild.
Amid the mounting allegations against Weinstein, Stone said he would not speculate. “I’ve heard horror stories on everyone in the business, so I’m not going to comment on gossip,” he said. “I’ll wait and see, which is the right thing to do.”
