Priyanka Chopra Speaks Out On The Abuse Of Women In Hollywood

Priyanka Chopra spoke to a crowd during Marie Claire‘s Power Trip 2017 and said that in the wake of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the former film studio executive actually represents the beginning of men abusing their power in the movie industry. The New York Times and the New Yorker reported that Chopra shed some light on the abuse of women in Hollywood.

“I don’t think there is ‘a’ [Harvey Weinstein in India] and I don’t even think honestly there is only ‘a’ Harvey Weinstein in Hollywood. I think there’s a lot more out there, and there are a lot more men, and there will be a lot more stories that come up… I think that happens not just in India but all over the world. It’s just the power of a man trying to take away a woman’s power.”

Last Thursday, prior to Bumble Bizz’s dinner in New York City, Chopra spoke with Elle magazine and revealed that the abuse of women in Hollywood is not a prominent conversation in the industry.

“It’s not a conversation just in Hollywood; it’s something that happens in every entertainment, every business or every workplace, first of all because there are thousands of men who are in positions of authority and that power is very often abused.”

Chopra said sexual harassment in the entertainment industry is something many have experienced, but it happens mostly to women.

Chopra is happy to see people speaking out and taking a stand. The number of people who have come together using the #MeToo hashtag is inspiring to the former Bollywood actress.

“Those who have stood up shoulder-to-shoulder with each other saying enough, I’m not gonna stand for this anymore, this world isn’t going to stand for it. Women, whether it is abuse in whichever form — sexual, emotional, verbal — they’re not gonna stand for it anymore and I think yes, there’s so much more to do and the conversation needs to be as loud as possible but this is a great initial step.”

Chopra can be considered one the most popular celebrities in India at the moment. Chopra has been in 50 films and became the first South Asian to star in an American TV drama series, ABC’s Quantico. However, Priyanka has experienced hardships in Hollywood as well.

Chopra spoke about her very difficult move, from a career in which everyone knows her and she looks like everyone else, to a career in Hollywood.

Chopra said she heard from friends in the entertainment industry that there were South Asian actors trying to break into Hollywood.

“I never understood that until I started working here.”

Three years ago, she signed a deal with ABC, but she had to read 26 scripts to find a role that, as she said, “wasn’t a stereotype of what America would think an Indian would be, like My Big Fat Punjabi Wedding.”

Chopra’s part as Alex Parish in Quantico had originally been written for a white actress.

Chopra spent four years living with a family in Iowa. As a teenager with an Indian accent in Cedar Rapids, Priyanka said students would ask her things like, “‘Do you find gold in your rivers?’… Or, ‘Do you take an elephant to school?'” Chopra said, “I had to be like, ‘That’s the other Indians.'”

Priyanka was recently appointed UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador. Chopra, 34, was recognized at UNICEF’s 70th Anniversary gala at the United Nations headquarters in New York, according to People.

The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education, which she runs, is currently “self-funded and extremely small,” she said, but they educate 80 or so girls around India.

In India, Chopra was involved with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. The Baywatch star is also said to be a longtime advocate for the rights of women.

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]