Harvey Weinstein says Angelina Jolie’s claim he attempted to assault her aged 21 is ‘brazenly untrue’

Harvey Weinstein has called Angelina Jolie’s claims that he tried to sexually assault her when she was 21 “brazenly untrue”.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the Maleficent star – who has previously claimed that she was sexually harassed by convicted rapist and film producer Weinstein – spoke about an incident that occurred while working on the 1998 film Playing By Heart.

Describing the situation as an abuse of rights, Jolie said: “If you get yourself out of the room, you think he attempted but didn’t, right? The truth is that the attempt and the experience of the attempt is an assault… It was beyond a pass, it was something I had to escape.

“I stayed away and warned people about him. I remember telling Jonny [Lee Miller], my first husband, who was great about it, to spread the word to other guys – don’t let girls go alone with him.”

Jolie said that she refused to work with Weinstein again and found it “hard” when ex-husband Brad Pitt continued to act in his projects despite knowing he had assaulted her, saying: “We fought about it. Of course it hurt.”

Speaking to TMZ through his assistant, Weinstein, who was recently extradited from New York to California to face multiple new rape and sexual assault charges, claimed that Jolie was making up the allegations in order to boost sales for her book.

“THERE WAS NEVER an assault, and NEVER an attempt to assault,” he said. “It is brazenly untrue and clickbait publicity.

“You’re Angelina Jolie, every male and female in the world, I’m sure, shows interest in you. Is the whole world assaulting you?”

The Independent has contacted Jolie’s representatives for comment.

Elsewhere in the interview, Jolie claimed that she feared for her and her family’s safety during her marriage to Pitt, who she filed for divorce from in 2019.

Jolie admitted she could not talk in depth about her experiences with Pitt due to an ongoing legal situation but said she did not make the decision to divorce Pitt lightly, explaining: “It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children.”

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.

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