The actor said he just wanted to make sure nothing further was going to happen to his then-girlfriend.
Brad Pitt is opening up about his past with Harvey Weinstein.
In 2017, the Hollywood producer was accused by numerous women of sexual assault and misconduct, including Gwyneth Paltrow, the Ad Astra star's ex-fiancee. While Weinstein has "unequivocally denied" any wrongdoing, Paltrow previously shared that Pitt confronted Weinstein after he allegedly made some unwanted advances toward her.
Now, in an interview with CNN released this week, Pitt, 55, explains why he stood up to the movie mogul.
"At that moment, I was just a boy from the Ozarks on the playground, and that's how we confronted with things," he tells 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 continues. "Recalibrated in a very good way that is long overdue. And I do think that's an important story to tell."
Pitt and Paltrow dated after they met on the set of Seven in 1994. They got engaged but called it quits in 1997. Last year, the Iron Man actress opened up about her encounter with Weinstein and Pitt's "fantastic" response during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
"We had one instance in a hotel room where he made a pass at me, and then I really kind of stood up to him. I told my boyfriend at the time, Brad Pitt," Paltrow, who was 22 at the time of the alleged incident, told Stern. "I love him for this."
"I told [Pitt] right away, and I was very shaken by the thing and I had signed up to do two movies with [Weinstein]," she continued. "I was afraid, and Brad Pitt, we were at the opening of Hamlet on Broadway... and Harvey was there, and Brad Pitt, it was like the equivalent of throwing him against the wall, energetically."
"It was so fantastic, because what he did was he leveraged his fame and power to protect me at a time when I didn't have fame or power yet," she added. "He's the best."
Following the multiple accusations, Weinstein was fired by his own company, The Weinstein Company. In August, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a new indictment that included two new charges of predatory sexual assault, a development that caused the judge to delay the start of his trial until early next year.
For more on Paltrow's claims against Weinstein, watch below.
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