- Salma Hayek told The Guardian Harvey Weinstein would call her while filming "Frida" to complain.
- She said he didn't like her monobrow in the movie and said "I didn't hire you to look ugly."
- Hayek added that this was a "systematic" problem in Hollywood.
Salma Hayek told The Guardian that while making the Oscar award-winning movie "Frida," Harvey Weinstein called to complain about her appearance in the film.
Speaking to reporter Hadley Freeman about the 2002 movie she produced and starred in, Hayek explained Weinstein didn't like the mustache and monobrow she wore for the role, saying it made her look "ugly."
"When he would call me up and scream, 'Why do you have a [monobrow] and mustache? I didn't hire you to look ugly!' I was like, 'But didn't you ever look at a picture of Frida Kahlo?' If a man was playing Cyrano de Bergerac, he wouldn't say, 'What's with the nose?'" Hayek told Freeman.
Back in 2017, Hayek was one of many women to come forward against Weinstein, accusing the Hollywood producer of abuse and sexual harassment. She also wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times that year about how she said she was bullied by Weinstein during "Frida," writing that Weinstein made inappropriate demands, threatened to kill her, and forced Hayek to make "Frida" more sexual.
During her recent interview with The Guardian, Hayek was asked about what she wrote in the opinion article and said "to a degree" she normalized his behavior to cope.
"And I did feel all right," the 55-year-old actress said of her experience with Weinstein. "OK, I would shake and it did depress me, but there was a cartoon aspect about the whole thing."
When asked about her comment in her opinion article that she was never assaulted by Weinstein due to her friendships with Quentin Tarantino and others, Hayek replied that she was "strong."
"I didn't just say no. I'm a force to be recognized," she added when asked to clarify. "He never saw me weak. It's not that I'm not afraid, but you're not going to see it. I can be almost intimidating in my calm strength, you know?"
Weinstein's lawyers did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Earlier this year, Tarantino said on "The Joe Rogan Experience" that he knew about some of the accusations against Weinstein and wished he had done more.
"I wish I had talked to the guy. I wish I had sat him down and had the uncomfortable conversation," Tarantino said in June. "I didn't know about any rapes or anything like that but I knew he was like, you know… I chalked it up to the boss chasing the secretary around the desk."
Hayek added that Weinstein was only part of the problem and he was "not the only man to reassure himself by knowing he can destroy women."
"I'm sure — it was systematic. But one of my strengths is I don't hold a grudge," the "Eternals" star said. "I also believe people can change … I'm not interested in shaming anyone. I just want it to stop."
Last year, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of one count of first-degree criminal sexual act against the production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and one count of third-degree rape against the hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013. In July, he was extradited to Los Angeles to be indicted on 11 counts of sexual assault against five different women.
Watch: We asked an ex-SAS special forces soldier to rate 11 military movie scenes for realism
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony0rcummGagka6yrHnSmrCsZZiWv7ex2GaunqGeqMGmtc1mqpyqlZa6bsHGpbBmnqKesaJ5kWlpamVhZg%3D%3D