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Peter Jackson: Harvey Weinstein’s Smear Campaign Caused Me to Blacklist Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino

By Jordan Freiman

Director Peter Jackson has revealed that he believes Harvey Weinstein tried to get actresses Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd blacklisted from Hollywood by spreading rumors about them through his former production company, Miramax. Jackson briefly worked with Weinstein in the late 1990s, when the disgraced producer was trying to make Jackson’s Lord of the Rings series, which was eventually taken over by New Line Cinema.

“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs,” Jackson told Stuff. “This was probably in 1998. At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us – but in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing.”

“I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women – and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list,” Jackson added.

“I remember this well,” Judd tweeted after Jackson’s recent comments were published.

“Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying,” Sorvino tweeted Friday morning. “There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick.”

Both Sorvino and Judd are among the more than 60 women who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Judd claims that Weinstein wore only a bathrobe during a meeting at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel and asked her to give him a massage and watch him shower. Sorvino also claimed that Weinstein acted inappropriately with her at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1995.

“He started massaging my shoulders, which made me very uncomfortable, and then tried to get more physical, sort of chasing me around,” Sorvino told the New Yorker. Sorvino also said that she long-suspected spurning Weinstein led him to retaliate against her by refusing to hire her for future projects and convincing others to do the same.

 

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