Salma says ‘monster’ Weinstein threatened to kill her

Los Angeles, Dec 14 (IANS) Actress Salma Hayek has added her name to the list of celebrities speaking out against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, calling him a rage-fuelled "monster" who sexually harassed and tried to kill her. Weinstein denied the charge.

In an emotional New York Times piece published on Wednesday, the 51-year-old Mexican actress detailed her experiences with Weinstein through the course of the making of "Frida" -- a 2002 biopic on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

She claimed, among other things, that he once threatened to kill her when she refused his advances. Hayek said Weinstein told her: "I will kill you, don't think I can't."

"I don't think he hated anything more than the word 'no,'" Hayek wrote. "And with every refusal came Harvey's Machiavellian rage."

Dozens of actresses, including Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused Weinstein of similar impropriety. He has denied all the allegations of non-consensual sex.

Weinstein's spokesperson said: "All of the sexual allegations as portrayed by (Hayek) are not accurate and others who witnessed the events have a different account of what transpired."

The Oscar-nominated actor wrote that she spent years saying 'no' to the disgraced producer following his demands for sexual activity with her.

"No to me taking a shower with him. No to letting him watch me take a shower. No to letting him give me a massage. No to letting a naked friend of his give me a massage. No to letting him give me oral sex. No to my getting naked with another woman," she wrote.

She accused him of threatening to shut "Frida" down unless she filmed a nude sex scene with another actress.

"I had to take a tranquilizer, which eventually stopped the crying but made the vomiting worse," she wrote of her emotional turmoil at filming a scene she thought unnecessary.

"As you can imagine, this was not sexy, but it was the only way I could get through the scene."

After refusing to sleep with him, Hayek alleged that Weinstein tried to remove her from the project despite the fact she had steered it in the first place. Once she met his demands with regards to the script and budget, he agreed to let her star.

The film ended with six Oscar nominations, including one for Hayek as best actress. She wrote that even when she would see him after the release, he "terrified" her.

Weinstein's spokesperson said the film producer "does not recall pressuring Salma to do a gratuitous sex scene with a female co-star and he was not there for the filming. However, that was part of the story, as Frida Kahlo was bisexual and the more significant sex scene in the movie was choreographed by Hayek with Geoffrey Rush".

The spokesperson said Weinstein "regards Salma Hayek a first-class actress" and admits "there was creative friction" on the set of "Frida".