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The actress spoke to Diane Sawyer in a sit-down that aired on ‘Good Morning America.’
Ashley Judd opened up about her experience with Harvey Weinstein in her first TV interview since the publication of a New York Times exposé, three weeks ago, alleging that Weinstein had engaged in decades of sexual harassment, including with Judd.
Judd spoke out about her experience with Weinstein in the Times, and she told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, in a sit-down that aired in part on Thursday’s (Oct. 26) Good Morning America, that she went for a run before she decided to reveal what happened to her to try to get her mind clear. She added that she talked with both her dad and her mom, Naomi Judd, and her mom said, “Go get him.”
Judd tells Sawyer that she hadn’t heard stories about Weinstein’s alleged behavior before she was summoned to meet with him in his hotel room at the Peninsula in Beverly Hills two decades ago and she had no reason to be wary of him.
“I had no warning,” she said.
Still, when she went to the concierge to ask where she should meet Weinstein, assuming he’d be on the patio, she was told, “He’s in his room.”
Judd closed her eyes and recoiled when she recalled that to Sawyer and said she thought, “You’re kidding me.”
She went up, she said, because, “I had a business appointment.”
But she recognizes now, as more than 60 women have come forward with claims that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them, that taking women to his hotel room was his m.o., she told Sawyer.
“That was his pattern of sexual predation. That’s how he rolled,” she said.
Judd recounted her experience with Weinstein, saying, “I fought with this volley of ‘no’s. He ignored the ‘no’s. Maybe he heard them as ‘maybe.’ Maybe he heard them as ‘yes’es. “
“Finally I just said, ‘When I win an Oscar in one of your movies, OK?’ He said, ‘Yeah when you get nominated.’ I said, ‘No, when I win an Oscar.’ And then I just fled,” Judd told Sawyer. “Am I proud of that? I’m of two minds. The part that shames myself says ‘no.’ The part of me that understands how shame works says ‘That was absolutely brilliant. Good job, kid. You got out of there. Well done.’ It’s a very important word, ‘shame,’ and it’s a very important thing to talk about. We all do the best we can. Our best is good enough. And it’s really OK to have responded however we responded.”
Judd, Sawyer reported, told her she had trouble grasping what happened but she told her parents enough that they understood how shaken she was and she told fellow actors, agents and other people who worked in Hollywood, in private.
When reflecting on why it took her so long to come forward, Judd said she didn’t know if she would’ve helped prevent such behavior if she’d spoken up earlier.
“I don’t know that I would’ve been believed,” she said. “Who was I to tell? I knew it was disgusting. Was I going to tell the concierge who sent me up to the room?”
Judd and Sawyer also examined a photo from that time period, released by Weinstein himself to show that the two of them were friends and getting along fine. In the picture, from an event, Weinstein has grasped her hand and has his arm around her.
When Sawyer showed it to Judd she said, “Ick!”
As for the story behind the picture, Judd said, “I hoped I wouldn’t pass him, but I did and he obviously grabbed my hand. It’s like, the look on my face is abject terror. You can see it in my eyes. It’s very gross. I feel for that 28-, 29-year-old woman.”
Earlier, Judd was tearful when Sawyer asked if she could’ve imagined that at some point so many people would be talking about what she experienced.
More to come…
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In a second clip that aired on GMA, Sawyer played audio for Judd of women who spoke out about their own experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace.
She also revealed what she’d tell Harvey Weinstein now and what she believes should happen to him.
Sawyer made it clear that Judd doesn’t forgive what Weinstein did to women and the journalist said that Judd’s approach to him now comes from her deep faith.
“I love you and I understand that you are sick and suffering. And there is help for a guy like you, too. And it’s entirely up to you to get that help,” Judd said.
When Sawyer said those comments would surprise people, the actress choked up as she said, “It’s just who I am. It’s frankly an easier way to roll through the world than the alternative.”
And she believes that there’s “hope and help for everyone.”
“It has to be the appropriate help. There has to be a real profound understanding on the part of the sexual predator that what they were doing was wrong and criminal,” she said.
Still, when asked whether Weinstein should go to jail, Judd said, “If he’s a rapist, he absolutely should go to jail.”
And she was hopeful that men and women could change the culture of harassment.
“This is the moment and if we want it to be the moment, it for sure will be the moment,” she said.
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7:14 a.m. PT This story has been updated with an additional clip of Judd’s sit-down with Sawyer.
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President Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
President Trump on Thursday again jumped into Virginia governor’s race, with two tweets praising Republican Ed Gillespie as being tough on crime and protective of Confederate statues and “heritage.”
“Ed Gillespie will turn the really bad Virginia economy #’s around, and fast. Strong on crime, he might even save our great statues/heritage!” Trump tweeted at 10:07 a.m., an apparent reference to new Gillespie ads that call for preservation of the state’s Confederate monuments.
The president is a native of New York City. Gillespie grew up in New Jersey.
Four minutes later, Trump added, “Ed Gillespie will be a great Governor of Virginia. His opponent doesn’t even show up to meetings/work, and will be VERY weak on crime!”
Gillespie’s Democratic opponent, Ralph Northam, is a former Army doctor and pediatric neurologist who grew up on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. He responded to the president’s tweet with “I served 8 years in the Army, took care of sick kids, and am running to build a more inclusive Virginia. Don’t talk to me about showing up.”
[The lure of the steady physician]
Northam later shared a video of him treating patients at a free health care clinic in southwest Virginia, adding “While I was treating patients at the RAM clinic, Donald Trump was golfing in Sterling. You tell me who doesn’t show up for Virginians.”
With the election just 12 days away, speculation has mounted about whether Trump would hit the campaign trail for the Republican in the nation’s only competitive governor’s race this year.
Gillespie has repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether he would welcome the president to a state where Trump is deeply unpopular. Virginia was the only Southern state to vote for Hillary Clinton last year.
Vice President Pence, a long time personal friend of Gillespie’s, appeared in Virginia earlier this month for a rally and on Wednesday was the featured guest at a private Gillespie fundraiser in Fairfax County.
But the candidate has struggled to find the right posture toward Trump. He needs support from Trump voters without turning off moderate Republicans and independents.
[Can an establishment Republican win in the Trump era?]
Trump first tweeted on the race earlier this month, endorsing Gillespie and falsely claiming Northam fights for violent gangs. Gillespie was slow to acknowledge that endorsement, and did not comment until reporters asked him about it the next day.
But on Thursday, Gillespie quickly retweeted Trump’s praise.
In doing so, they elevated the issue of Confederate monuments — one of the most emotionally charged topics in the neck-and-ncek governors’ race.
White nationalists rallied in Charlottesville in support of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, leading to violent clashes in August that stunned the country and left three people dead.
Trump blamed both sides for violent and lamenting the “history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.”
While Gillespie condemned the white nationalists, he said the statues should remain in place with additional historical context.
[Interested in Virginia’s governor’s race? Join our Facebook group]
Northam initially responded to the Charlottesville unrest by vowing to be a “vocal advocate” to move the statutes to museums. But he has since backpeddled, saying the decision should be made by local jurisdictions.
Virginia, once the capital of the Confederacy, has more monuments to the losing side of the Civil War than any other state.
Polls have shown majorities of Virginians want the statues to remain, with Democrats split on the issue and Republicans united.
Other references in Trump’s tweets Thursday echo claims made in Gillespie’s campaign commercials.
Trump’s reference to Northam failing to show up to work echoes a common Republican attack line blasting the Democrat for missing meetings of various boards and commissions he sits on as lieutenant governor.
Virginia’s overall economy was hit hard during the recession because of its dependence on federal government spending and regional ties to dying industries, such as coal, textiles and tobacco.
But unemployment rate is now at 3.7 percent, one of the lowest in the nation, and even Republicans have credited Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) with being an enthusiastic recruiter of new businesses.
[Virginia’s unemployment rate is only 3.7 percent, so why is the economy a big issue in the governor’s race?]
Still, the low unemployment rate masks an uneven recovery, with urban areas such as Northern Virginia and Richmond doing well while rural areas suffer.
McAuliffe, who is barred from seeking consecutive terms under the state constitution, responded to Trump by defending the state’s economy under his stewardship.
“Virginia unemployment is 3.7%. National unemployment is 4.2%. Stop tweeting and get to work,” he tweeted.
Gregory S. Schneider contributed to this report.
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