Terry Gilliam has described the women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault as “adults who made choices”.
The outspoken director, 79, made the statement in an interview with The Independent, where he also elaborated upon why he believes #MeToo was a “witch hunt”.
“There are many victims in Harvey’s life and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices,” Gilliam said.
He continued: “Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt. I really feel there were a lot of people, decent people, or mildly irritating people, who were getting hammered. That’s wrong. I don’t like mob mentality.
“These were ambitious adults,” the director added.
Gilliam also commented on the former Hollywood mogul’s decision to break his silence to lament the fact that his “pioneering” efforts to put women at the centre of his films have “been forgotten” because of the allegations against him.
Upon being asked if he felt it was a bigger problem that Weinstein was refusing to take responsibility for abusing his power, Gilliam replied: “No. When you have power, you don’t take responsibility for abusing others – you enjoy the power. That’s the way it works in reality.”
Weinstein will go to trial on Tuesday (6 January) after being accused of five counts of predatory sexual assault, criminal sex act and rape.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.
Gilliam is promoting new film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which will be released in UK cinemas on 31 January.
Read the full interview here.
