Matt Damon reveals he knew that Harvey Weinstein had 'harassed' Gwyneth Paltrow but didn't think he was a 'predator'

Matt Damon has said that he knew about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment of Gwyneth Paltrow, but was unaware of the “level of criminal sexual predation”.

The Hollywood actor revealed that he had been told about “the story of Gwyneth” by best friend Ben Affleck during his relationship with her, but had never discussed it with the actress himself.

Damon, who worked with the disgraced movie mogul during the 1990s, insisted that Weinstein was always “respectful” of Paltrow after the incident.

“I knew that story,” he said on Monday’s ABC News. “I never talked to Gwyneth about it. Ben told me, but I knew that they had come to whatever, you know, agreement or understanding that they had come to, she had handled it.”

“She was, you know, the first lady of Miramax," he continued. "And (Weinstein) treated her incredibly respectfully, always.”

During the interview with George Clooney, Damon said that he knew Weinstein was an “a*****” but was not aware of his alleged crimes.

“When people say ‘everybody knew’ – yeah, I knew he was an a******,” he said. “He was proud of that. That’s how he carried himself. And I knew he was a womanizer.

“But this level of criminal sexual predation is not something that I ever thought was going on. Absolutely not.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Paltrow claimed that Weinstein acted inappropriately towards her during a meeting in his suite at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel after she’d been given the lead role in Emma at the age of 22.

According to the actress, Weinstein placed his hands on her and suggested that they go to the bedroom for “massages”, which she refused to do.

More than 40 women have alleged that Weinstein sexually abused or harassed them, including Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.

Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.