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Actresses Respond to Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers: ‘I Believe You’

“Women fight on,” she tweeted. “And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies.”

Brie Larson, an actress who advocates on behalf of sexual assault victims, offered her support.

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “I believe you.”

Megan Ellison, the founder of Annapurna Pictures, which has produced “Detroit,” “American Hustle,” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” noted that women who speak out about sexual assault often face “serious repercussions,” and said that she admired their courage.

The actress America Ferrera expressed a similar sentiment. “This abuse of power must be called out, however powerful the abuser, and we must publicly stand with those brave enough to come forward,” she said.

The director Judd Apatow took issue with Mr. Weinstein’s defense that he was influenced by the misogyny of a bygone era.

“You are blaming growing up in the 70’s? You haven’t picked up anything since then?” Mr. Apatow asked.

Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox News host whose sexual harassment suit helped topple Roger Ailes, the network’s founder and former chairman, said in a statement that such behavior exists in all industries and needs to stop.

“When will this dynamic end?” she asked. “Women and the men who support them need to make changes now!”

Here are a few of the women whom Mr. Weinstein is accused of harassing:

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Ambra Battilana, an Italian model, received a payment from Mr. Weinstein after filing a police report against him.

Credit
Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

Ambra Battilana

Shortly after meeting with Mr. Weinstein in 2015, Ms. Battilana, an Italian model and aspiring actress, called the police in New York City, telling them that he had grabbed her breasts and put his hands up her skirt, according to a police report.

The Manhattan district attorney declined to bring charges, but Mr. Weinstein made a payment to Ms. Battilana.

Ashley Judd

Ms. Judd, an actress, said Mr. Weinstein invited her to his hotel for a breakfast meeting two decades ago. When she arrived, she was directed to his room, where he greeted her in a bathrobe and asked if he could give her a massage or have her watch him shower, she said.

“I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,” Ms. Judd said. “It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.”

Laura Madden

Ms. Madden, a former employee, said Mr. Weinstein had asked her for massages at hotels in Dublin and London starting in 1991. “It was so manipulative,” she said in an interview. “You constantly question yourself — am I the one who is the problem?”

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Rose McGowan, one of the actresses who settled with Mr. Weinstein.

Credit
An Rong Xu for The New York Times

Rose McGowan

In 1997, Mr. Weinstein and Ms. McGowan, then 23, reached a settlement after an episode at a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival. The settlement was intended not as an admission of guilt, but rather to “avoid litigation and buy peace,” according to the agreement, which was reviewed by The Times.

Emily Nestor

At a 2014 breakfast meeting, Mr. Weinstein told Ms. Nestor, a temporary employee, that he would boost her career if she accepted his sexual advances, according to accounts she gave to colleagues.

Lauren O’Connor

Ms. O’Connor, then an employee, documented several allegations against Mr. Weinstein in a 2015 memo in which she described a “toxic environment for women” at the company. That memo included an episode in which, she said, Mr. Weinstein yelled at her and suggested she was probably only suited to “being a wife” and “making babies.”

Zelda Perkins

In 1998, Ms. Perkins, then a 25-year-old assistant in London, confronted Mr. Weinstein over his alleged harassment and threatened to go public or take legal action if it continued, according to former colleagues. A lawyer for Mr. Weinstein was later dispatched to negotiate a settlement with her.

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