'A night with Harvey, that's the price you pay': Director Terry Gilliam hits out at #MeToo 'mob rule', claiming some women 'did very well' after meeting with Weinstein
- Terry Gilliam had harsh words for the 80 plus women who accused Weinstein
- Said the ones who did well after meeting Weinstein 'knew what they were doing'
- Said he knew 'enough girls who were in Harvey's suites who were not victims'
- Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong'o, and Gwyneth Paltrow, among Harvey's accusers who said they were propositioned in his hotel suites
- Gilliam also said his wife now tells him to keep his head 'a bit low' after #MeToo
Hollywood director Terry Gilliam has lashed out at the #MeToo movement, calling it a 'mob rule' and claiming some actresses' 'did very well out of meeting with Harvey'.
'Harvey opened the door for a few people, a night with Harvey - that's the price you pay,' said the Monty Python member.
'Some people paid the price, other people suffered for it.'
While Gilliam, 77, called Harvey a 'monster', he saved his harshest words for the more than 84 women who have accused the producer of sexual assault and harassment.
Hollywood director Terry Gilliam has lashed out at the #MeToo movement, claiming some actresses' 'did very well out of meeting with Harvey Weinstein' (pictured together in 2005)
While Gilliam, 77, called Harvey a 'monster', he saved his harshest words for the more than 84 women who have accused the producer of sexual assault and harassment
'It is a world of victims,' Gilliam said. '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.'
Gilliam also claimed during the interview that he knew 'enough girls who were in Harvey's suites who were not victims and walked out'.
As stories regarding Weinstein came out last September, a clear pattern emerged of aspiring and working actresses who were asked to take business meetings in his suites.
Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong'o, and Gwyneth Paltrow are just a few of the stars who said they were propositioned by Weinstein in one of his suites.
Rose McGowan and Asia Argento are among two of the actresses who said they were raped by Weinstein after being summoned to his hotel room.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with any of his accusers.
'Harvey opened the door for a few people, a night with Harvey - that's the price you pay,' said the Monty Python member (pictured this week in Paris)
Gilliam likened #MeToo to a 'mob rule' and said he felt sorry for Matt Damon, who was criticized after speaking out against the movement (pictured together with Weinstein in 2005)
Meanwhile, the NYPD has since said it is 'ready to go with an arrest' after investigating five different allegations against the disgraced producer in New York.
Gilliam has likened the #MeToo movement, which has spread across numerous industries in the country, to 'like when mob rule takes over'.
'The mob is out there, they are carrying their torches and they are going to burn down Frankenstein's castle,' he said.
'People are being described in ridiculous terms as if there is no real humanity left anymore.'
Gilliam specifically mentioned Matt Damon, who he described as a 'decent human being'.
'I feel sorry for someone like Matt Damon,' he said. 'He came out and said all men are not rapists, and he got beaten to death. Come on, this is crazy!'
Gilliam said his wife Maggie Watson has told him to 'keep my head a bit low' since the movement has swept up Hollywood
Damon came under fire in December when he likened #MeToo to a 'culture of outrage' and said there was a 'difference between patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation'.
'Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn't be conflated,' he added in the ABC News interview.
He was met with swift criticism from a number of women, including Alyssa Milano.
'We are not outraged because someone grabbed our a***s in a picture,' she tweeted.
'We are outraged because we were made to feel this was normal. We are outraged because we have been gaslighted. We are outraged because we were silenced for so long.'
Ashley Judd and Lupita Nyong'o are just a few of the stars who said they were propositioned by Weinstein in one of his suites
Rose McGowan and Asia Argento (pictured) are among two of the actresses who said they were raped by Weinstein after being summoned to his hotel room.
Gilliam believes the #MeToo reckoning has wiped away 'intelligence' and that now 'people seem to be frightened to say what they really think.'
'Now I am even told by my wife to keep my head a bit low,' he added.
While the director believes it is men who are currently afraid to walk through the world, he concedes there are still plenty of people like Weinstein in Hollywood.
'There are plenty of monsters out there,' he said. 'There are other people still behaving like Harvey.'
But Gilliam believes that abuse will always come with the power of the industry, and that human beings will always be 'touching' and 'grabbing'.
'I don't think Hollywood will change,' he said. 'Power always takes advantage, it always does and it always has.'
'It's how you deal with power - people have got to take responsibility for their own selves.'
Gilliam has not been without his own controversies when it comes to actresses.
Sarah Polley revealed in the nineties that she swore off big budget films forever after working with the director on Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
Just eight years old at the time, Polley recounted how Gilliam had her lean closer and closer to an explosive during one of the action scenes.
Polley had to go to the hospital because she lost her hearing for two days.
Ten years later, on the set of a Miramax film, the actress said she was propositioned by Weinstein.
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