The actress says 'it hurt' to see her ex-husband working with Weinstein after the alleged abuse she faced.
Angelina Jolie says it "hurt" her to see ex-husband Brad Pitt working with Harvey Weinstein, and even "fought" about it.
The Academy Award-winning actress touches on the first time she felt sufficiently disrespected in the industry, telling The Guardian that it was when she worked with Weinstein, a convicted rapist, in the 1988 movie Playing By Heart. Jolie explains that at the time, she was 21 and downplayed her alleged encounter with the disgraced producer.
"If you get yourself out of the room, you think he attempted but didn’t, right? The truth is that the attempt and the experience of the attempt is an assault," she explains, adding that "it was beyond a pass." "It was something I had to escape. I stayed away and warned people about him. I remember telling Jonny [Lee Miller], my first husband, who was great about it, to spread the word to other guys – don’t let girls go alone with him."
Jolie claims that she was asked to do The Aviator, "But I said no because he was involved. I never associated or worked with him again. It was hard for me when Brad did."
Pitt -- whom Jolie was married to from 2014 until she filed for divorce in 2016 -- was part of Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds, which was co-produced by the Weinstein Company. Jolie also shares that in 2012, her then-husband asked Weinstein to produce his thriller, Killing Them Softly, which the Weinstein Company distributed.
"We fought about it. Of course it hurt," Jolie says of Pitt's then-involvement with Weinstein. She then decided to not attend any promotional events for the film.
Starting in 2017, the Hollywood producer was accused by numerous women of sexual assault and misconduct. Following the multiple accusations, Weinstein was fired by his own company. He is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for his crimes.
A rep for Weinstein claims to ET that after the Aviator, sometime around 2007 or 2008, Jolie came to London and met with Weinstein and Anthony Minghella to ask if she could be on the film I Don't Know How She Does It. The rep adds that per Weinsten, there was never an assault, and never an attempt to assault. The rep claims Jolie's allegations are brazenly untrue and clickbait publicity.
Jolie first opened up about Weinstein in the 2017 New York Times piece, claiming she rejected unwanted passes he made towards her in a hotel room.
"I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did. This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable," she told the publication.
Additionally, Gwyneth Paltrow also opened up about the harassment she faced from Weinstein in the same article. Paltrow was 22 when she had her encounter with the producer. At the time she was dating Pitt. The actress previously shared that her then-fiancé confronted Weinstein after he allegedly made some unwanted advances toward her.
In a September 2019 interview with CNN, Pitt explained why he stood up to the movie mogul and defended Paltrow.
"At that moment, I was just a boy from the Ozarks on the playground, and that's how we confronted with things," he told journalist Christine Amanpour. "I just wanted to make sure nothing was going to happen further, because she (Paltrow) was going to do two films."
"I think the interesting thing is that we, Hollywood specifically, but the workplace, men and women's dynamics is being recalibrated," the actor continued. "Recalibrated in a very good way that is long overdue. And I do think that's an important story to tell."
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