'He was my monster': Salma Hayek alleges Harvey Weinstein misconduct

More than 50 women have claimed that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades

(FILES) This file photo taken on November 15, 2017 shows actress Salma Hayek attending the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and InStyle celebration of the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards season at Catch LA in  West Hollywood.
A-lister Salma Hayek on December 13, 2017 joined the scores of actresses to accuse Harvey Weinstein, alleging that the fallen Hollywood mogul sexually harassed her, subjected her to escalating rage and once threatened to kill her."For years, he was my monster," the Mexican-born star wrote in an essay published in The New York Times, detailing the torturous production of the 2002 movie "Frida" that eventually earned Hayek an Oscar nomination for best actress.
 / AFP PHOTO / CHRIS DELMAS
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Mexican-born actor Salma Hayek has joined the ranks of Hollywood women accusing movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, calling him a "monster" in an article published by the New York Times.

"For years, he was my monster," Ms Hayek wrote in the opinion piece in which she included descriptions of sexual harassment, bullying and threats.

Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for Mr Weinstein, issued a statement on his behalf on Wednesday night disputing Hayek's account and calling her allegations of sexual misconduct inaccurate.

More than 50 women have claimed the film producer sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades. Mr Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.

Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the accusations against Mr Weinstein.

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Ms Hayek's spokeswoman had no immediate comment on Wednesday.

Police in New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and London have said they are investigating allegations of sexual assault or rape.

Hayek wrote in the article that she was inspired to share her experiences after other women came forward. Her account largely centered around the time she was involved with making the 2002 film, Frida, in which she portrayed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Ms Hayek wrote that she was pleased to have the opportunity to work with Mr Weinstein and Miramax, which he then owned, because it was "synonymous with quality, sophistication and risk taking in films". But, she wrote, she found herself rebuffing sexual advances and requests from Mr Weinstein.

"No to letting him give me oral sex," Ms Hayek wrote as one of several examples. "And with every refusal came Harvey's Machiavellian rage."

Ms Hayek wrote that Weinstein was threatening to shut down the production of Frida and that he pressured her into doing a sex scene with another woman in the film. Ms Hayek said that when she went to film the scene, "... for the first and last time in my career, I had a nervous breakdown."

The actress, who called Weinstein a "passionate cinephile, a risk taker, a patron of talent in film, a loving father and a monster," wrote: "I never showed Harvey how terrified I was of him".

"Until there is equality in our industry, with men and women having the same value in every aspect of it, our community will continue to be a fertile ground for predators," she wrote.

Baird issued a statement on behalf of Weinstein that disputed Hayek's version of events.

"Mr Weinstein regards Salma Hayek as a first-class actress and cast her in several of his movies, among them Once Upon a Time in MexicoDogma, and Studio 54. He was very proud of her Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Frida and continues to support her work," the statement said.

"While Jennifer Lopez was interested in playing Frida and at the time was a bigger star, Mr Weinstein overruled other investors to back Salma as the lead," it said.

The statement also said Miramax put up half of the money in a film with a budget of more than $12 million, and also noted that there was "creative friction" on the film, which it said "served to drive the project to perfection".

"Mr Weinstein does not recall pressuring Salma to do a gratuitous sex scene with a female costar and he was not there for the filming," the statement said. "All of the sexual allegations as portrayed by Salma are not accurate and others who witnessed the events have a different account of what transpired."