In a recent interview with NextTribe, actress Rosanna Arquette says that certain female agents in Hollywood pushed her to keep silent about her claim that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her.
The longtime star of TV and film credits Weinstein with landing her career in the "gutter" by telling producers and directors that she was a "pain in the ass" after she got away from his predatory advances.
"Look what happened to us," Arquette explains, referring to so many great actresses affected by Weinstein's alleged sexual assaults, a list that includes stars like Mira Sorvino, Daryl Hannah, Asia Argento and Rose McGowan. "The years of work we could have done! Now we're middle-aged women."
Arquette alleges that Weinstein tried to sexually assault her in the 1990s and explained to NextTrbie that "I told people in the industry about my experience with Harvey in the hotel that day. I didn't hide it. When I told them, I would hear, 'I'd keep my mouth shut about that if I were you' — even from female agents. I heard that warning and thought, 'OK, no one is going to believe me. My words will get back to him. I'm [expletive]!'"
Added the actress, "Maybe Harvey would be at a dinner party and say … 'Don't work with her. She's a pain in the ass.' He had the power to do that. … I went from being an A-list actress in America to down in the gutter."
"So many directors have recently said, 'I really wanted you for that role','" she continued. "And so many people — agents and producers and managers — were complicit."
There are still victims that have yet to come forward, according to Arquette: "I was a survivor of serious sexual harassment, but I was not raped," she reveals. "But my friends were … including those who still won't come forward and give their names because the experience has been so triggering."
She has been inspired to help other women and is currently working as an activist: "Getting women out of trafficking is my passion," Arquette says. "I want to get rid of all the scumbags, from the Weinsteins to the pimps. And, especially now, we can do it."