Glenn Close says Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by dozens of women, "was known to be a pig," adding that she herself "never was preyed upon" by anyone but did have a couple of "uncomfortable" auditions with men.
The famed producer was fired from the Weinstein Company in October amid the allegations, which have since increased. Multiple women, including actress Rose McGowan, have accused him of rape. Weinstein has apologized for his past behavior with colleagues but denies taking part in non-consensual sex. He has not been charged with a crime, although several police investigations against him are ongoing.
"In the Harvey case, you'd be lying if you said you didn't know that he had a terrible reputation," Close, 70, told Jezebel in comments posted on Friday. "He was known to be a pig."
Weinstein, who has stayed out of the spotlight amid the scandal, has not commented on Close's remarks.
Like many stars, Close has been photographed hanging out with Weinstein at celebrity events in the past and he produced two animated movies that featured her, including the U.S. version of the 1988 movie Gandahar, which is one of three movies he has ever directed
In October, Close, who appears in the new film Father Figures, had said in a statement to the New York Times, "I'm sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women. Harvey has always been decent to me, but now that the rumors are being substantiated, I feel angry and darkly sad."
"I'm angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the 'casting couch' phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job," Close had said.
The allegations made against Weinstein have spurred scores of women to make public accusations of sexual misconduct against other powerful men, in and outside of Hollywood. Some, including Portia de Rossi, have said the alleged behavior took place during acting auditions.
Close told The New Republic in an interview also posted on Friday that while she was "never preyed upon," on two occasions, a man put his hand on her thigh during an audition, which made her uncomfortable. She said he was trying to provoke "what they'd call sexual chemistry," adding, "It's like putting a dog in with a bitch and seeing if he wants to hump her."
"As more and more people are being exposed and more and more women are being able to come up and say they were abused or preyed upon, I feel that it's kind of in the male DNA, that if somebody walks in the room, your first thought is, 'Do I want to f--k her?'" Close told Jezebel. "Honestly speaking. Women maybe, but not to the same degree. If you expect that to change, I think it's stupid. But I hope this is a tipping point and I hope it will represent a social revolution. Evolution. Evolution."