Los Angeles, Oct 14 (PTI) Filmmaker Michael Moore, TVmogul Oprah Winfrey and 'Project Runway' host Heidi Klum arethe latest Hollywood personalities to have spoken out againstdisgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, who is facing multipleallegations of sexual abuse.
Moore said the investigations into Weinstein's "repugnantand abhorrent behavior" could "actually ignite a historicchange in our society".
In a Facebook post titled 'Use This Moment to Create aWorld Without Harveys', the documentary filmmaker said thismoment should be used to work towards ending women'sharassment in the industry.
"Anyone with a flicker of a conscience or a modicum ofdecency stands, as I do, with the women who've summoned thecourage to tell the truth about Harvey Weinstein. But well-meaning platitudes of support for the abused are simply notenough," Moore wrote.
"Let's use this moment to end the abuse of women in ourindustry. Let's make this a call for men to take a standagainst the men who perpetrate this corrosive, criminalbehavior, to call them out and shut them down. We can do this.
All it takes is the will and the decision to say 'enough isenough!'." he wrote.
Klum, whose show "Project Runway" has removed Weinsteinas its executive producer, also addressed the scandal.
"I wish I could say that the horrible stories I readabout Harvey Weinstein are a rare occurrence in our society,but that is simply not the case. We would be naive to thinkthat this behavior only happens in Hollywood," Klum, 44, toldPeople magazine.
She said Weinstein was just one example of the "morepervasive problem of the mistreatment of women around theworld".
"I think it would be hard to find a woman – myselfincluded – who have not had an experience where they have feltintimidated or threatened by a man using his power, positionor his physical stature," she said, adding the change willcome only when people are held accountable.
Winfrey called Weinstein's behaviour "hideous".
"I've been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein'shideous behavior and haven't been able to find the words toarticulate the magnitude of the situation," the media mogulwrote on Facebook.
"... Thanks to the brave voices we've heard this week,many more will now be emboldened to come forward EVERY timethis happens. I believe a shift is coming," she added.
Weinstein, once one of the most powerful men inHollywood, had a swift fall after eight women — includingactress Ashley Judd — spoke out against him in a New YorkTimes report, accusing him of sexual harassment andinappropriate behavior.
The NYT article was followed by a more detailed piece byRonan Farrow in The New Yorker where three women accused theproducer of rape, which Weinstein has denied.
Many more powerful women from Hollywood including namessuch as Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Heather Graham, EvaGreen and Lea Seydoux have come forward with stories ofharassment by the producer.
Weinstein has since been fired from The WeinsteinCompany, and his wife, Georgina Chapman, has announced thatshe is leaving him. PTI BKBK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.