Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Harvey Weinstein allegations: George Clooney is latest star to brand producer’s alleged behaviour ‘indefensible’

Harvey Weinstein (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
Harvey Weinstein (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

GEORGE CLOONEY has become the latest Hollywood star to speak out over Harvey Weinstein – branding the producer’s alleged behaviour “indefensible”.

Weinstein has been dismissed from the Weinstein Company, while Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Dame Judi Dench have thrown their support behind the women making the allegations of sexual harassment.

Clooney, who got his big-screen break as an actor and then later as director with help from Weinstein, told the Daily Beast website: “It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with.

“I’ve known Harvey for 20 years… We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behaviour – ever.”

George Clooney who has threatened a magazine with prosecution (Ian West/PA Wire)
George Clooney (Ian West/PA Wire)

He said he had heard “rumours” that “certain actresses had slept with Harvey to get a role” but that they seemed like a way to “demean” the actresses and “so I took those rumours with a grain of salt”.

“But the other part of this, the part we’re hearing now about eight women being paid off, I didn’t hear anything about that and I don’t know anyone that did,” he said.

His comments come as British actress Romola Garai said that Weinstein wore a dressing gown as he auditioned her for a movie role when she was just 18.

Garai told the Guardian: “Like every other woman in the industry, I’ve had an ‘audition’ with Harvey Weinstein, where I’d actually already had the audition but you had to be personally approved by him.”

The 35-year-old added: “I had to go to his hotel room in the Savoy, and he answered the door in his bathrobe.

“I was only 18. I felt violated by it, it has stayed very clearly in my memory.”

Romola Garai (Ian West/PA Wire)

Meanwhile, Winslet told Variety magazine that the women speaking out were “incredibly brave” and that their allegations had “been deeply shocking to hear”.

And Dame Judi, 82, who has previously credited Weinstein with helping her career, said in a statement that she was “completely unaware of these offences which are, of course, horrifying and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out”.

Actress Streep said in a statement to the Huffington Post that “the disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported.

“The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.”

Days before his sacking, Weinstein issued an apology after claims were made by women with whom he had worked, including Ashley Judd, although he has not directly addressed the allegations.

Weinstein, who co-founded the Weinstein Company alongside his brother Bob in 2005, was dismissed from the studio “with immediate effect” on Sunday.

He had previously announced he was taking a leave of absence after the emergence of the scandal.

Kiss The Girls star Judd and Rose McGowan, who appeared in films including Scream, were among the women involved, according to a New York Times story which first detailed the allegations last week.

In his apology, Weinstein said he appreciated that the way he had behaved with colleagues in the past “has caused a lot of pain” and that he realised he “needed to be a better person”.

He said: “I came of age in the 60s and 70s, when all the rules about behaviour and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.

“I have since learned it’s not an excuse, in the office – or out of it. To anyone.”