Angelina Jolie Says She “Warned People” About Harvey Weinstein Who Was Her Reason For Turning Down ‘The Aviator’

Angelina Jolie has been making headlines as of late due to her and Brad Pitt‘s ongoing custody battle which began after the pair’s 2019 divorce. She is also receiving attention for her upcoming role in Chloe Zhao’s Marvel film The Eternals.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, however, the media outlet spoke to the actress about an encounter she had with now-convicted rapist and former movie producer Harvey Weinstein early on in her career. She divulged how the trauma of that incident led her to turn down a role in Martin Scorsese‘s The Aviator because of Weinstein’s involvement.

Her comments came when she was asked about the first time she felt disrespected in the industry.

“Erm… well, no surprise, Harvey Weinstein. I worked with him when I was young.” said Jolie who was only 21 when she made the 1998 Miramax romantic comedy Playing by Heart, which Weinstein executive produced.

She says that she was able to escape Weinstein, but that women often downplay their assaults if they managed to get away.

“If you get yourself out of the room, you think he attempted but didn’t, right? The truth is that the attempt and the experience of the attempt is an assault,” she said.

As for specifics of what happened during the encounter, Jolie said, “I really don’t want to derail the book into stories about Harvey,” adding that it was definitely an abuse of power. “It was. It was beyond a pass, it was something I had to escape. I stayed away and warned people about him. I remember telling Jonny [Lee Miller], my first husband, who was great about it, to spread the word to other guys — don’t let girls go alone with him.”

Jolie added that after the incident, she turned down a major role in Martin Scorsese’s 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, simply due to Weinstein’s participation in the project.

“I was asked to do ‘The Aviator,’ but I said no because he was involved. I never associated or worked with him again. It was hard for me when Brad did.”

Jolie said she has fought with her then-partner Pitt in 2009 when he took on a role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, which was co-produced by the Weinstein Company. She also divulged that Pitt approached Weinstein in 2012 to serve as a producer on Andrew Dominik’s dark thriller Killing Them Softly, which further upset her.

“We fought about it. Of course it hurt,” said Jolie, who added that she refused to attend any red carpet events for the movie.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor