George Clooney Speaks Out About The Harvey Weinstein Scandal

Since the scandal revolving around Harvey Weinstein and the alleged sexual misconduct that seems to be prevalent in Hollywood was first reported, there have been plenty of actors and actresses who have spoken out and shared their stories. The latest star to speak out regarding Weinstein is George Clooney, who not only described the alleged sexual misconduct of the former studio executive as being “indefensible,” but he also went so far as to compare the other man’s behavior and actions to that of President Donald Trump.

According to the Guardian, Clooney took part in an interview in which he made comments regarding what Harvey Weinstein allegedly did. Although the actor has worked with the other man in the past, he said he has never seen in person any evidence of the alleged sexual misconduct. However, George Clooney did admit that in the 1990s he had heard rumors about possible misconduct on Harvey Weinstein’s part, but he said that he actually dismissed the rumors as being a way to discredit the actresses whose names were thrown out there.

Clooney said that in the past he has been on location with Weinstein, they have had dinners together, and they have even gotten into arguments with each other. In all of that time, however, the actor said he never saw any signs of bad behavior.

While the actor may not have seen any indication of Harvey Weinstein engaging in sexual misconduct in all their years of working together, he did say that he remembers the rumors that started up in the 90s. George Clooney said that the rumors that he heard about at the time included hearing “that certain actresses had slept with Harvey to get a role.” The way he perceived these rumors at the time was as “a way to smear the actresses and demean them by saying that they didn’t get the jobs based on their talent.”

Although these rumors may have circulated at the time, the actor pointed out that the other aspect to the story is the fact that what they are hearing now is about women who were apparently paid off, and how this is something he “didn’t hear anything about that and I don’t know anyone that did.” George Clooney said that this is on an entirely different level and that “there’s no way you can reconcile that.” In fact, the actor said that there is nothing anyone can say about this, “except it’s indefensible.”

George Clooney on Weinstein: "This is the moment to start scaring people like this into not acting this way anymore" https://t.co/d1iSRIXHsg pic.twitter.com/flOkeWYNqR

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 10, 2017

The actor explained that it is an entirely different story when one considers that people have put up with Harvey Weinstein’s “notoriously abrasive personality” because of the movies he puts out, but the conversation has to change when the story shifts to “it’s not that he yells and screams but that he’s cornering a young, scared lady in a restaurant and telling her to stand there and be quiet while he j**ks off.”

There have been plenty of reports that have talked about Hollywood turning a blind-eye to the sexual misconduct that is said to run rampant behind the scenes, but as the actor pointed out, similar allegations have been made against Donald Trump and yet those have been ignored as well. According to George Clooney, any issues of sexual abuse need to be taken seriously by all parties, both on the right and left. He said that instead of trying to make this a political issue, he wants there to be talks on all sides in regard to the horrible acts and bad behavior that these men in power have committed so that it does not continue to happen.

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]