Winona Ryder has opened up about her unusual interaction with ex-film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein, along with his brother Bob Weinstein, co-founded Miramax.
This film production company is known for producing many successful films, such as Scream, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and several of Quentin Tarantino’s major hits including Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill series.
In 2017, Weinstein was dismissed from the board of Miramax following numerous sexual harassment allegations from actresses such as Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie, and Gwyneth Paltrow. These allegations played a significant role in propelling the ‘#MeToo’ movement.
The producer denied all accusations of ‘non-consensual sex’ and pleaded not guilty to 11 assault charges. Despite his plea, in 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape and a criminal sexual act, resulting in a 23-year prison sentence.
Additionally, he received a further 16-year sentence after a Los Angeles trial convicted him on two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape. In 2024, a New York court overturned his 2020 rape conviction, citing an unfair trial.
In a recent interview with Esquire, the Beetlejuice star reflected on her experience with Weinstein.
Though Ryder did not face any sexual misconduct from Weinstein, she recounted a meeting that led to her being ‘screamed at by an agent’.
The Edward Scissorhands actress said, “The one time I was supposed to have a meeting with [Harvey Weinstein], I went to the Miramax office and I extended my hand and he shook my hand and I sat on the couch and we had a conversation and I left.
“And [afterwards] I got like screamed at [by an agent]. ‘What the f*** did you do?’ I was like, ‘What?’ Apparently, I offended him because I extended my hand?… I guess.”
She also recounted an episode during the filming of 1993’s The House of the Spirits when Weinstein knocked on her trailer door and expressed his desire for her to star in a movie he was producing, Little Voice.
“And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just saw that in London.’ I was like, ‘You have to cast that girl [from the play], Jane Horrocks. She’s f**king amazing.’ And he got very weird and he left.” Ryder recalled.
Afterward, she concluded that ‘he did not like me’, suggesting there might have been other reasons for not hiring her, adding: “I think I knew a little bit too much.”
The Stranger Things actress also mentioned experiencing some sexual harassment during her twenties and thirties.
“It wasn’t an assault. But it was incredibly inappropriate,” Ryder shared. “It was wild. I really understand [what the victims of Weinstein and others went through]. I was lucky because I was known, so it didn’t happen as much as maybe it would if I had been a struggling actor.
“But I remember this feeling in your mind: you’re negotiating, you’re thinking about what’s going to happen if you say something. You’re working it out while this person is being extremely creepy.”
She has also discussed some of her past experiences with her Beetlejuice co-star Jenna Ortega, coming to a realization of how terrible they were.
Ryder added: “As I was saying it, I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s really f***** up.’
“If someone was being inappropriate or drunkenly hitting on me it was like, ‘Ha ha!’
“You kind of do that. ‘Ha ha!’ Inappropriate? I dealt with that. But touching me? It felt very invasive.”
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673) available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org Español: rainn.org/es.