Singaporean actress Caitanya Tan has claimed that disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein invited her to his hotel room under the guise of looking at scripts, six years ago.
Weinstein has been embroiled in a massive scandal after numerous Hollywood actresses began reporting that he has propositioned, inappropriately touched, molested or masturbated in front of them. Some have even claimed that the film mogul had raped them.
Tan – who gained widespread local fame after starring in television drama Tanglin – was 24 years old when she reportedly encountered Weinstein on the red carpet at the 5th Asian Film Awards at Hong Kong in 2011.
According to a local website, Tan remembers being excited to meet Weinstein – who was the keynote speaker at the event – for she knew that if he liked her, she could land a part in one of his movies.
Tan was with some friends who were also excited to meet the “American superstar producer” and snap a photo with him.
Soon, Weinstein’s limousine pulled up. Tan and her friends were, however, disappointed when he seemed dismissive and walked on after shaking their hands.
But then, he turned back.
Tan reports that he asked her: “Hey, are you an actress?”
Eager and excited at being noticed, Tan said yes:
“He said, ‘I have a couple of scripts with me,’ and I was like, gosh, even more excited.”
However, there was a string attached: the scripts were in his room.
Tan was confused:
“Wait. What? Room? As in your office?”
“He said, ‘No, they’re in my hotel room. Would you like to come up to my room to have a read’?”
“I told him: I want to read your script, but not in your hotel room.”
Weinstein began to walk away, but turned back. Tan, who is now 30m recounts that he said:
“‘Are you sure? Do you know who I am? Do you know I can make you very famous?’
“I thought: This is the industry I’m in? I was shocked at the way Weinstein had been so upfront about it, so strong in the way he delivered those lines.
“I told him, maybe it’s my ego, but I don’t want to be famous like this.”
Veteran American-Chinese actor Andrew Ng, who has acted with big-name Hollywood stars like Scarlett Johansson and Jean Claude van Damme, was with Tan. He was initially excited to meet “the American superstar producer who has made so many big Hollywood movies,” until he witnessed Tan’s encounter with him:
“The man was wielding his power blatantly; he was pretty explicit. I was shocked and disgusted. He was sure of himself and knew just how powerful he was. But Caitanya stood her ground.”
Tremendous backlash ensued against the producer after news of his alleged offences broke. Weinstein’s wife, noted fashion designer Georgina Chapman, announced that she would be divorcing him, following the eruption of the scandal.
Weinstein was also sacked from his eponymous production firm, The Weinstein Company.