Cara Delevingne has revealed she was unsure as to what constituted sexual assault prior to the #MeToo movement.
Speaking to ELLE UK, the model-turned-actor explained it wasn’t until actor Rose McGowan publicly accused disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape that she understood and subsequently felt compelled to share her own allegation against him.
In October 2017, Delevingne accused the Pulp Fiction producer of trying to her get to kiss another woman in front of him. The 27-year-old also claimed that Weinstein attempted to kiss her when she tried to leave his hotel room. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sexual conduct against him.
When asked how it felt to share her story, Delevingne described it as “therapeutic” and revealed she hadn’t thought about the alleged incident for five years.
“I also hadn’t dealt with it at all,” the Paper Towns star continued.
“I didn’t really know what assault was. I hope [Weinstein] gets prosecuted and, of course, I want there to be justice. It turns out nearly every single woman I know or have worked with has been harassed or assaulted in some way. I just didn’t know about it.”
Elsewhere in the interview Delevingne offered her thoughts on gender inequality in the film industry and explained that while movements such as #TimesUp can help, there’s much more to be done if we’re to see a real improvement.
“In my opinion, especially in these movements, as soon as we get a hashtag for something, we feel like it’s done,” she said.
“But that’s not the case. It’s the beginning, and I think people need to remember that [gender discrimination is] still happening all the time.” Delevingne went on to say that while women are getting more opportunities than ever before, “there are still people out there who are the same as they were three years ago” in terms of progression.
“You can’t just put a hashtag up on social media and the problem is gone,” she concluded.
