Lupita Nyong'o claims Harvey Weinstein 'tried to remove his pants after offering massage while his kids were in house'

The actress has described a number of encounters with the producer when she was just starting out in Hollywood

Zoe Shenton

Lupita Nyong'o is the latest actress to come forward to describe her encounters with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Writing in an op-ed in the New York Times, she alleged that not only did Weinstein attempt to ply her with alcohol when she met with him at a restaurant, but after they moved the meeting to his home to watch a film screening, tried to give her a massage.
At a later meeting, the 34-year-old Oscar-winning actress claimed Weinstein, 65, propositioned her in a hotel restaurant.
According to Nyong'o, she met with Weinstein for the second time - after having initially met him in 2011 at an awards ceremony in Berlin while she was still in school at Yale - when he asked her to attend a screening at his home after sharing lunch at a restaurant.
When she arrived at the restaurant in Westport, Connecticut, close to where Weinstein lived, Nyong'o told of how he ordered her a vodka soda and insisted that she drink it, despite her protests.

The actress has opened up about her experience with Weinstein (Image: AFP)

After finishing their meal, she and Weinstein relocated to his home, where Nyong'o was introduced to his domestic staff and children.
Nyong'o wrote that she, Weinstein, and his children all began watching the film together. About 15 minutes into the film, however, Weinstein asked her to accompany him outside the room.
"I protested that I wanted to finish the film first, but he insisted I go with him, laying down the law as though I too was one of his children. I did not want another back-and-forth in front of his kids, so I complied and left the room with him. I explained that I really wanted to see the film. He said we'd go back shortly.

(Image: Splash News)

"Harvey led me into a bedroom - his bedroom - and announced that he wanted to give me a massage. I thought he was joking at first. He was not. For the first time since I met him, I felt unsafe. I panicked a little and thought quickly to offer to give him one instead: It would allow me to be in control physically, to know exactly where his hands were at all times."
Nyong'o alleged that after he removed his shirt and she began giving him a massage, he asked if he could remove his pants.
She said she would prefer that he didn't and that it would make her extremely uncomfortable if he did so.
Despite her protests, Weinstein allegedly got up to remove them, at which point the actress moved toward the door.

Emma Watson, Margot Robbie and Lupita at last year's Met Gala (Image: REX)

"I opened the door and stood by the frame. He put his shirt on and again mentioned how stubborn I was," she wrote.
"I agreed with an easy laugh, trying to get myself out of the situation safely. I was after all on his premises, and the members of his household, the potential witnesses, were all (strategically, it seems to me now) in a soundproof room."
Nyong'o wrote that she "didn't quite know" how to process the massage incident, and rationalised it.

His wife, Georgina Chapman, announced she was leaving him after the allegations surfaced (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

"I reasoned that it had been inappropriate and uncalled-for, but not overtly sexual. I was entering into a business where the intimate is often professional and so the lines are blurred."
Nyong'o continued that after the encounter she met up with Weinstein once more, this time accompanied by friends as well as some of Weinstein's colleagues, for dinner and a staged reading of his new Broadway show Finding Neverland.

Harvey Weinstein has seen his empire collapse following allegations made against him (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

During this meeting, Nyong'o experienced no untoward attention, and the fact that Weinstein was accompanied by other female actresses made her even more inclined to brush off the previous incident as an awkward encounter.
A couple of months later, Nyong'o wrote, Weinstein invited her to have drinks with him after a screening of W.E.
According to the actress, a male assistant arranged her transportation from the reading to the Tribeca Grill, where she would meet Weinstein for drinks.

Weinstein, 65, meteorically fell from grace after the claims were made public and has had ties severed with his own firm, The Weinstein Company (Image: REUTERS)

Although she assumed it would be a group of people, as it had been for the reading, when she arrived at the restaurant, she was informed by a female assistant that it would just be her and Weinstein.
The assistant waited with her until Weinstein appeared, at which time she left.
She alleges that before their starters arrived he suggested that they go upstairs to where he had a private room to have their rest of their dinner.
"I told him I preferred to eat in the restaurant. He told me not to be so naive. If I wanted to be an actress, then I had to be willing to do this sort of thing. He said he had dated Famous Actress X and Y and look where that had gotten them."

Lupita Nyong'o at the Queen of Katwe film premiere in Los Angeles (Image: Rex Features)

The actress declined his offer and they left the restaurant and she went to get into a taxi.
"Before I got in, I needed to make sure that I had not awakened a beast that would go on to ruin my name and destroy my chances in the business even before I got there," she wrote. "'I just want to know that we are good,' I said. 'I don't know about your career, but you'll be fine,' he said. It felt like both a threat and a reassurance at the same time; of what, I couldn't be sure."

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

The next time she saw him was in 2013 at an after-party for the premiere of 12 Years a Slave. Weinstein found her and commended her for her rapid progress in the industry.
She alleges that he apologised for the way he had treated her in the past and he promised to respect her moving forward.
The actress thanked him, but says she made a promise to herself never to work with Weinstein.
Nyong'o finished by explaining that she had no idea at the time that this behaviour from Weinstein was something other women were dealing with as well.

Nyong'o finished by explaining that she had no idea at the time that this behavior from Weinstein was something other women were dealing with as well (Image: Rex Features)

The fact that he was one of the first people she'd met in the industry also prevented her from coming forward sooner, and the fact that no one else seemed to be challenging him.
In a statement to E! News, a spokesperson responded to the star's op-ed piece.
"Mr. Weinstein has a different recollection of the events, but believes Lupita is a brilliant actress and a major force for the industry.

He has "unequivocally denied" allegations of non-consensual sex through his spokeswoman (Image: AFP)

"Last year, she sent a personal invitation to Mr. Weinstein to see her in her Broadway show Eclipsed."
A number of actresses have come forward in recent weeks to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lena Headey, Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne, Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd.
Weinstein meteorically fell from grace after the claims were made public and has had ties severed with his own firm, The Weinstein Company.
He has "unequivocally denied" allegations of non-consensual sex through his spokeswoman.
Police in London, Los Angeles and New York are investigating the 65-year-old.

Mirror