Music

Madonna says Harvey Weinstein ‘crossed lines’ when they worked together

Singer claims the former film mogul was ‘incredibly flirtatious and forward’ with her

Madonna poses in the press room at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, US. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Thu Jun 6 2019 - 14:54

Madonna has said that former film mogul Harvey Weinstein "crossed lines and boundaries" when they worked together on her 1991 tour documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare, which was distributed by Weinstein's former company, Miramax.

In an interview with the New York Times, the singer described Weinstein as “incredibly sexually flirtatious and forward with me when we were working together. He was married at the time, and I certainly wasn’t interested.”

She said she was aware he had acted similarly with her female peers. “We were all: ‘Harvey gets to do that because he’s got so much power and he’s so successful and his movies do so well and everybody wants to work with him, so you have to put up with it.’ So that was it.”

When allegations that Weinstein had raped and assaulted women were reported in October 2017, Madonna said she wasn’t “cheering from the rafters because I’m never going to cheer for someone’s demise. I don’t think that’s good karma. But it was good that somebody who had been abusing his power for so many years was called out and held accountable.”

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In the interview, Madonna also denied the rumour that she had once asked Donald Trump on a date. She recalled that while she shot a Versace campaign with Steven Meisel at the photographer's Palm Beach home, Mr Trump repeatedly called to talk to her. "He kept going: 'Hey, is everything OK? Finding yourself comfortable? Are the beds comfortable? Is everything good? Are you happy?'"

She said Mr Trump had a weak character. “A man who is secure with himself, a human who is secure with themselves, doesn’t have to go around bullying people all the time,” she said.

Madonna releases Madame X, her 14th studio album, on June 14th. – Guardian

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