Terry Gilliam rejigs stance on ‘monster’ Weinstein

Paris (AFP) – Hollywood director Terry Gilliam, who sparked a firestorm by saying ambitious actresses willingly “paid the price” of having sex with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead, on Wednesday categorically slammed the producer as a “monster”.

“Weinstein is a monster,” the former Monty Python member told reporters in Paris. “He is a horrible man and he has ruined so many lives of people and he will be punished for it. That’s it.”

Last month the US-born British director told AFP that protests and public condemnation such as the #MeToo movement were turning into “mob rule”, claiming that while some women suffered, others used Weinstein to further their careers.

The 77-year-old maker of “Brazil” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” referred to Weinstein as a monster then too, but said there were many others still “behaving like Harvey” in the film industry, abusing their power for sex.

He said Weinstein was singled out because he “is an asshole and he made so many enemies.”

But Gilliam said the reaction against the wave of sexual abuse and harassment revelations had become ugly and “simplistic”.

“It’s a world of victims. I think some people did very well out of meeting with Harvey and others didn’t. The ones who did knew what they were doing. These are adults, we are talking about adults with a lot of ambition.

“Some people paid the price, other people suffered from it.”