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Uma Thurman explains her anger at Harvey Weinstein

In a New York Times interview, Thurman detailed Weinstein’s alleged abuse

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February 4, 2018 at 10:55 a.m. EST
((Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters))

Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Ellen McCarthy.

Three months ago, actress Uma Thurman told Access Hollywood that she was “waiting to feel less angry” before she spoke about the wave of sexual assault allegations made against Harvey Weinstein.

“When I’m ready, I’ll say what I have to say,” Thurman said at the time.

The actress made good on that promise, over the course of two interviews with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

Thurman told Dowd that Weinstein was sexually aggressive with her on multiple occasions, and after an incident in a London hotel room, the Hollywood mogul “threatened to derail her career.”

Thurman detailed occasions on which she rebuffed Weinstein’s advances. “He pushed me down,” she said. “He tried to shove himself on me.”

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Weinstein issued a statement to the Times saying that he “acknowledges making a pass at Ms. Thurman in England after misreading her signals in Paris.” After the story published on Saturday, Weinstein issued a new statement denying the allegation that he physically assaulted Thurman. According to the statement, there was no physical contact during what Weinstein’s spokeswoman described as an “awkward pass” following a flirtatious exchange. Weinstein’s attorney Ben Brafman is expected to issue a more detailed response later.

Weinstein executive produced three key films in Thurman’s career: “Pulp Fiction” in 1994, “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” in 2003 and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2,” which was released the following year. Quentin Tarantino directed the films. Although he declined to comment to the Times about Thurman, Tarantino has admitted that he knew about Weinstein’s behavior over the years.

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“I wish I had taken responsibility for what I heard,” he told the Times back in October. “If I had done the work I should have done then, I would have had to not work with him.”

At one point, Tarantino confronted Weinstein about his behavior toward Thurman, the actress said. But Thurman had a rocky relationship with the director as well, she said in the Times interview.

She recounted a traumatic event on the set of “Kill Bill,” where she was injured in a car crash after being coerced into filming her own stunt by Tarantino.

The scene, Dowd writes, is the same one Thurman posted a photo of around Thanksgiving. On Instagram, she wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving — except Weinstein.

After the accident — and an ensuing fight with Tarantino — Thurman said she went from “from being a creative contributor and performer to being like a broken tool.”

“Personally,” the actress said, “it has taken me 47 years to stop calling people who are mean to you ‘in love’ with you.”