Cara Delevingne joined the several women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. The model-turned-actress, 25, took to Instagram to accuse the film producer of making sexual advances towards her when she first started her acting career.
'When I first started to work as an actress, I was working on a film and I received a call from Harvey Weinstein asking if I had slept with any of the women I was seen out with in the media," Delevingne shared in an Instagram post. "It was a very odd and uncomfortable call....I answered none of his questions and hurried off the phone but before I hung up, he said to me that If I was gay or decided to be with a woman especially in public that I'd never get the role of a straight woman or make it as an actress in Hollywood."
The actress also shared an account of a meeting she had with Weinstein and the director of an upcoming film in a hotel lobby, which took place a year or two after that phone call. After the meeting, the director left, but Weinstein asked Delevingne to stay and talk to him, she explained.
'As soon as we were alone he began to brag about all the actresses he had slept with and how he had made their careers and spoke about other inappropriate things of a sexual nature. He then invited me to his room,' she said. Delevingne noted that she declined the invitation, but felt pressured to go. 'At that moment I felt very powerless and scared but didn't want to act that way hoping that I was wrong about the situation,' she recalled.
'When I arrived I was relieved to find another woman in his room and thought immediately I was safe,' she continued. 'He asked us to kiss and she began some sort of advances upon his direction.'
Delevingne said she then began singing to make the situation feel 'more professional' and 'like an audition,' she wrote. 'I was so nervous. After singing I said again that I had to leave. He walked me to the door and stood in front of it and tried to kiss me on the lips. I stopped him and managed to get out of the room.'
Delevingne still got the role in the film (she didn't disclose which movie it was), but she explained that she felt Weinstein gave her the part because of their encounter. "Since then I felt awful that I did the movie. I felt like I didn't deserve the part," she wrote. She added that she didn't want to speak up about the encounter because she "didn't want to hurt his family."
"I felt guilty as if I did something wrong. I was also terrified that this sort of thing had happened to so many women I know but no one had said anything because of fear," she concluded.
The actress is one of the latest to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment. Her story arrives a day after the New York Times published similar accounts from actresses including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, and The New Yorker reported disturbing stories from Weinstein's accusers, which included allegations of rape. It's been almost a week since the Times first broke news of the film mogul's decades-long history of alleged sexual harassment.
In response to the accusations published in The New Yorker, a spokesperson for Weinstein issued a statement that he 'unequivocally denied' any allegations of nonconsensual sex, and added that 'there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.' View the full statement here.
In a follow-up post, Delevingne shared a message of encouragement to women and girls who have been victims of sexual assault. 'I want women and girls to know that being harassed or abused or raped is NEVER their fault and not talking about it will always cause more damage than speaking the truth,' she said, and praised the women who have stepped forward for their bravery.
'In every industry and especially in Hollywood, men abuse their power using fear and get away with it,' Delevingne wrote. 'This must stop. The more we talk about it, the less power we give them. I urge you all to talk and to the people who defend these men, you are part of the problem.'
