LOS ANGELES: Jennifer Lawrence has broke her silence about the nature of relationship she had with Harvey Weinstein after an actress filed a lawsuit against the disgraced Hollywood mogul, saying he ‘bragged’ about sleeping with the star prior to her Oscar win.
Jennifer Lawrence, 28, who won an Oscar for the Weinstein-produced film Silver Linings Playbook, denied having any intimate relations with Weinstein.
The Hunger Games actress has lent her support to the alleged victims of the disgraced movie mogul, and stressed she only ever had a “professional relationship” with him.
“My heart breaks for all the women who were victimized by Harvey Weinstein,” Jennifer said in a statement.
“I have never had anything but a professional relationship with him. This is yet another example of the predatory tactics and lies that he engaged in to lure countless women.”
Citing the court documents, Variety reported that the actress, referred as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, alleged that Weinstein “forcibly performed oral sex on her, repeatedly masturbated in front of her and threatened to harm her career if she objected.”
In the paperwork, the accuser recalled how the producer said to her: “Do you even want to be an actress? I slept with Jennifer Lawrence and look where she is; she has just won an Oscar.”
The aspiring actress, who is suing for sexual harassment and discrimination, claims she first met Weinstein at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, where she said he offered to help her and told her he was the "gateway to her dreams".
Earlier this year, in May, Weinstein was indicted on multiple rape charges in the first and third degrees as well as a criminal sexual act in the first degree in New York City. He pled not guilty in early June and is free on a $1 million bail with GPS monitoring, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Weinstein's spokesman said yesterday: "Mr. Weinstein is embarrassed for Ms Lawrence, with whom he has only had a professional and respectful relationship, who has sadly been dragged into this ugly attempt at defamation.