After nearly a week of silence, actress Jennifer Lawrence said Monday she was unaware of Harvey Weinstein’s “inexcusable” behavior and the claims that the former Weinstein & Co. boss had sexually harassed young women for decades.
In a brief statement to The Hollywood Reporter late Monday, Lawrence — who worked with Weinstein on her 2012 film Silver Linings Playbook, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress — said the allegations against Weinstein are “inexcusable and absolutely upsetting.”
“I worked with Harvey five years ago and I did not experience any form of harassment personally, nor did I know about any of these allegations,” Lawrence told the outlet.
“My heart goes out to all of the women affected by these gross actions. And I want to thank them for their bravery to come forward,” she added.
While claiming to apparently have only work with Weinstein in 2012, the 27-year-old star, however, has appeared with the super-producer at high-profile fashion events, snapped pictures with him at awards shows, and other star-studded events.
Producer Harvey Weinstein and Jennifer Lawrence, winner of Best Actress for her role in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ attends the Oscars Governors Ball at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Producer Harvey Weinstein (C) and actress Jennifer Lawrence (R) in the audience during the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 18, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
In 2013, Lawrence and Weinstein presented former President Bill Clinton with the GLAAD Advocate for Change award during the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Lawrence congratulated Weinstein and his wife on the birth of their son, joking, “Harvey gave us just what we needed, another him.”
“If he’s anything like his dad, he’s going to be relentless, passionate, and just about the best mentor an aspiring actor could ever hope for,” Lawrence said at the time.
Last month, Weinstein wrote a glowing review of Lawrence’s critical and box office flop mother! “The viewer experience is a wild ride that is totally anchored by Jennifer Lawrence throughout,” he wrote in Deadline.
Lawrence has joined an ever-growing list of Hollywood stars to disavow Weinstein in the wake of the New York Times exposé that revealed how the disgraced mogul had reached financial settlements with at least eight different women due to sexual harassment claims.
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