Ashely Judd sat down for an intimate chat with Salma Hayek for the latest issue of Town and Country. The two actresses starred together in the biopic Frida. Both of the Hollywood starlets have spoken out against misconduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, coming forward with their own claims against the disgraced producer.
The interview largely centered on Judd's decision to speak out against Weinstein as one of the first women to do so.
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Judd, who has starred in a number of Hollywood blockbusters including 2014's Divergent, first told Variety that she had been harassed by a Hollywood mogul in 2015. It wasn't until news of the Miramax executive's widespread misconduct broke in October of last year that the actress admitted it was Weinstein. Judd told the New York Times that 20 years ago, she was invited to a hotel room by the disgraced producer who proceeded to ask her if he could massage her. When she refused, he asked if she would watch him shower.
Salma's own story came out two months later when she wrote a piece for the same publication. Whilst she was working on Frida, she claims Weinstein hounded. When she spurned his advances, he reportedly threatened her life and her career. Weinstein denied both counts.
"You came to me about telling my Harvey story when the New York Times article was first being reported," Hayek told Judd in the interview. "And I chickened out. It took me a couple of months in my head, because I had never told anyone. Just thinking about it weakened me emotionally. And if it affected me in such a way just to think about it, why would I say it out loud? The hard part was to tell my husband, because I had said, "Oh, Harvey was a bully," but I had never told him all of it." The From Dusk Til Dawn actress went on to ask her friend if "such terrible behavior ever warrants forgiveness."
"Well, forgiveness is no favor," Judd replied. "I do it for myself, and so I've already forgiven—it's the easier way to live. I have to forgive myself for being young and vulnerable, for being in the room."
The April 2018 issue of Town and Country is on stands now.