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Tom Hanks slams Harvey Weinstein
Tom Hanks has slammed Harvey Weinstein, saying there is "no way back" for the disgraced movie producer following allegations of sexual harassment and abuse spanning over three decades.
Speaking to BBC, the 61-year-old actor said he believes the scandal will cause a "sea change" in Hollywood, dismissing the 65-year-old and saying his "name will become a noun and a verb".
"We're at a watershed moment, this is a sea change. His last name will become a noun and a verb. It will become an identifying moniker for a state of being for which there was a before and an after," Tom told the outlet.
"Everybody has stories about some aspect of the 'casting couch,'" he added.
The Forrest Gump star added he didn't feel "complicit" about being involved in an industry that has perpetuated sexual harassment for decades, but rather the problem was more widespread.
"If Hollywood and the entertainment industry was the only place where sexual harassment occurred, I would say yes.. but… that's not the case, it's built into the rules of society," Tom added.
"It would be too simplistic to say this only happens in Hollywood… I watch Mad Men, you could probably say the same about the advertising agency. Look at the halls of government, how many sex scandals do you have there?
"Anywhere that there are men in power there are going to be those types of guys who are sexual predators for the women who work underneath them. And it goes on in the homosexual community as well. I've been in rooms with 40 women discussing the subject and the percentage of women who had experienced that kind of predatory sexual nature from a superior was 100%," he continued.
"There is going to be, righteously, a pause in the discussion for the women to be heard. Perhaps all men, myself included, should pipe down and not try to explain it or comment on it or certainly not try to defend it or even prosecute it because every one of those women, those 40 women I was in the room with, 100% of them need to be listened to."
Going on, the legendary actor said everyone outside of the Tinseltown bubble needs "to understand how vast and all-encompassing this was... it's all got to change. It's inexcusable".
And while Tom said many go into filmmaking for the love of the art, he also admitted that "plenty of people going into it for power - sexual aggressiveness and sexual predatory behaviour in the workplace are criminal".
"We need to listen to everyone who has been a victim, to give them a full-throated opportunity to speak as specifically as they feel comfortable doing and the people in power - the bosses - have to take note of what the new rules are and they have to follow them," he continued in the lengthy speech.
"I'm trying to think of a worse word to use than predator and I don't think there is in this circumstance. I think there should be a code of ethics posted in every lunchroom of every company on the planet that says here is the behaviour that is expected of you as an employee of this company."
However Tom, who sits on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board, declined to comment on the recent decision to remove Harvey from the organisation, which is behind the Oscars.
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