Comedians and actors confronted Harvey Weinstein after the accused sexual predator attended a an actors event.
Weinstein – who faces five criminal charges, including rape and sexual assault – was in attendance at Actors Hour, an invite-only event, at Downtime bar in New York’s East Village on Wednesday night.
And comedians Kelly Bachman and Amber Rollo and actor Zoe Stuckless (who uses they/them pronouns) called out the shamed producer after spotting him in the crowd.
In a video of the beginning of Bachman’s set, shared to her Twitter, she said: ‘There’s an elephant in the room. It’s more of a Freddy Krueger, actually. I didn’t realise I needed to bring my own mace and rape whistle to Actors Hour.’
Bachman was booed by members of the audience, with one person shouting ‘shut up’.
She continued: ‘Sorry, that killed at group therapy for rape survivors. I have been raped, surprisingly not by anyone here, and I’ve never been able to confront those guys, so just a general “F*** you”.’
According to Stuckless, who spoke to Vulture, later in the event, a male comedian started his set by saying: ‘We gotta talk about the elephant in the room. Yeah, who’s the elephant that produced Good Will Hunting? Cause that s*** was amazing!’
Stuckless later went up to Weinstein’s table; in a video shared to their Facebook, they could be seen screaming at him and saying: ‘Nobody’s going to say anything? Nobody’s really going to say anything?’
They were asked to leave the venue.
Amber Rollo tweeted about the event, writing: ‘I was shocked to see him out, but not because I thought he would have shame, he is a sociopath and clearly has no shame. I’m shocked because he was invited to an event put on by and for artists.
‘Downtime Bar NYC, you might remember it as Mockingbird in LES, allowed this man to stay at this event put on by Actors Hour. Actors Hour and the woman who runs it Alexandra Laliberte apparently invited Harvey Weinstein.
‘Not only was he invited he was supported. My friend and bad ass comedian @bellykachman was performing on the show and when she went after “Freddy Krueger” SHE was booed and told to shut up.’
She alleged that she called Weinstein a ‘f***ing monster and told him he should disappear’, adding: ‘His friend/body guard/goon/family member called me a c*** and I really really wanted to lunge over the table and strangle him.
‘I restrained myself, now that I’m sober I no longer throw drinks or fists. There was a woman at the table with him who gently guided me out. I don’t know who she is but I hope she is ok.’
A rep for Weinstein said: ‘Harvey Weinstein was out with friends enjoying the music and trying to find some solace in his life that has been turned upside down.
‘This scene was uncalled for, downright rude and an example of how due process today is being squashed by the public, trying to take it away in the courtroom too.’
Weinstein is currently out on $1 million bail after pleading not guilty to charges of rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct charges for incidents involving two women in May 2018.
He categorically denies any allegations of non-consensual sex.
Prior to the criminal charges being taken, Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct by over 80 women following an expose in the New York Times in 2017.
In a now deleted Instagram post from Actors Hour, they claimed that Weinstein was not invited to the showcase.
It read: ‘In light of the events last night, we feel it is important to state that Harvey Weinstein was NOT invited by the organiser or anyone associated with this organisation.
‘We believe the people who spoke out were brave and justified and we fully encourage freedom of speech. We apologise wholeheartedly for the way the situation was handled.
‘Actor’s Hour is a free space for Artists of all kinds and we regret that last night it did not feel that way for many. For that, we are deeply sorry.
‘We sincerely hope that what we have built over the past year speaks louder than last night’s event.’
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