Alyssa Milano's #MeToo tweet on sexual harassment gets thousands of replies

Actress Alyssa Milano has had more than 30,000 responses to a tweet encouraging people to reply "Me too" if they have ever been sexually harassed or assaulted.

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, tens of thousands of people responded in just 12 hours, including "Me too" responses from Will and Grace star Debra Messing and Oscar-winner Anna Paquin.

Milano said a friend had suggested the idea to give some understanding of "the magnitude of the problem" - and now the #MeToo hashtag is trending on Twitter.

Among the thousands of responses included Lisa J, who posted: "Me, too. When I was in the military, my date wanted sex. I said no. He ripped my shirt. I jumped out of the car. I was lucky."

@MunozActor said: "Me too. I don't know if means anything coming from a gay man but it's happened. Multiple times."

Another user, @BeSeriousUSA, replied: "Me too. Harassed at work at multiple companies, stalked, assaulted.....almost all of my friends have similar stories. We need to speak up."

"Honestly, has happened to *every* woman I know. And many, many of the girls. The scale is horrific. Am glad we are speaking up, finally," tweeted @Perlalaloca.

Milano appeared in the series Charmed with Rose McGowan - one of five women who have made an allegation of rape against Weinstein.

:: The Accusers

In a blog post last week, Milano said she was "sickened and angered over the disturbing accusations" - but "ecstatic even - that it has opened up a dialogue around the continued sexual harassment, objectification and degradation of women".

Dozens of women have made claims of sexual assault or harassment against the Hollywood producer, including allegations being investigated by British police.

Weinstein denies claims of non-consensual sex, but has found himself ostracised by the film industry and his peers, and on Sunday was expelled by the Oscars Academy.