Film icon Tom Hanks knows “all kinds of people” in Hollywood who act similar to high-profile producer Harvey Weinstein.
In an interview with The New York Times Wednesday, Hanks weighed in on recent news regarding Weinstein’s predatory behavior towards females.
“I’ve never worked with Harvey,” Hanks said. “But, aah, it all just sort of fits, doesn’t it?”
When asked why so many in the entertainment industry covered for Weinstein, Hanks argued that the producer’s power enabled his actions.
“Isn’t it part and parcel to all of society somehow, that people in power get away with this?” Hanks said. “Look, I don’t want to rag on Harvey but so obviously something went down there. “You can’t buy, ‘Oh, well, I grew up in the ’60s and ’70s and so therefore…’ I did, too.”
“So I think it’s like, well, what do you want from this position of power? I know all kinds of people that just love hitting on, or making the lives of underlings some degree of miserable, because they can.”
Hanks stressed though that Weinstein’s power merely amplified an already-deviant mind.
“Somebody great said this, either Winston Churchill, Immanuel Kant or Oprah: ‘When you become rich and powerful, you become more of what you already are,’” Hanks added.
“So I would say, there’s an example of how that’s true. Just because you’re rich and famous and powerful doesn’t mean you aren’t in some ways a big fat ass,” Hanks continued. “Excuse me, take away ‘fat.’ But I’m not, you know, I’m not the first person to say Harvey’s a bit of an ass.”
The Forest Gump star nonetheless expressed bewilderment at the amount of time Weinstein was able to stay under the radar.
“Poor Harvey — I’m not going to say poor Harvey, Jesus,” Hanks said. “Isn’t it kind of amazing that it took this long? I’m reading it and I’m thinking ‘You can’t do that to Ashley Judd! Hey, I like her. Don’t do that. That ain’t fair. Not her, come on. Come on!’”
Numerous video clips however from over the years show Harvey’s actions were an open secret in Hollywood.
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