As more and more women come forward with stories of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's decades-long sexual harassment, accusations against other powerful men in the industry are starting to surface.
Back in August, Man in the High Castleproducer Isa Hackett revealed an incident with Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, which occurred in 2015, but declined to elaborate on the specifics, telling The Information,"I do not wish to discuss the details of this troubling incident with Roy except to say Amazon investigated immediately and with an outside investigator."
In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, Hackett has now gone on the record with The Hollywood Reporterto reveal that Price allegedly made inappropriate remarks to her during San Diego Comic-Con. Varietythen reported that Amazon has put Price on a leave of absence "effective immediately."
Allegedly, after meeting Price for the first time during a day of press events for her Amazon show Man in the High Castle, Hackett shared a cab with him and another Amazon executive, Michael Paull, on the way to an Amazon party. Hackett said that during this ride, per THR, "Price repeatedly and insistently propositioned her."
"You will love my dick,” Price allegedly said, according to Hackett's account, despite Hackett reiterating that she wasn't interested, telling Price she is a lesbian with a wife and children. Once they got to the party, Hackett said Price continued to proposition her, and also loudly said, "Anal sex!" into her ear while she spoke with other Amazon executives.
SEE ALSO:These are the grossest celebrity responses to the Harvey Weinstein allegationsIn August, The Informationrevealed that Price was under independent investigation after Hackett filed a complaint with Amazon immediately following the alleged incident. She received no further updates on the claims, and refrained from sharing details publicly until now.
Following her complaint, Hackett continued to work on her two Amazon shows -- both of which are based on the works of her father, Philip K. Dick -- including the upcoming Electric Dreams.
"I didn’t want to distract or deflate the energies of all the people who are so invested in these shows, and all of that positivity," she told THR. "You don’t want to bring this into it. It feels demoralizing."
Meanwhile, Price continued to spearhead other Amazon projects, including two Weinstein Company television shows -- The Romanoffs, from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, and an untitled David O. Russell drama starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore. Both projects reportedly came with a hefty price tag ($70 million for The Romanoffsand $160 million for Russell's project), with Deadline noting that "the close relationship between Amazon Studios head Roy Price and Harvey Weinstein [was] said to have been a factor in the back-to-back big-ticket buys."
Ultimately Hackett said she felt compelled to come forward with her story in the wake of the Weinstein scandal because, "I feel inspired by the other women who have been far braver than I am, who have come forward. I hope we all continue to inspire each other and ultimately create change."
Writer and actress Rose McGowan, who revealed herself as one of Harvey Weinstein's victims and remains one of the most outspoken voices against sexual harassment in the industry, added her own thoughts on how she believes Amazon enables sexual predators Thursday. In tweets addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, McGowan said that after selling a project to Amazon, she voiced her concerns about Weinstein to Price, who allegedly ignored her.
Tweet may have been deleted
"I am calling on you to stop funding rapists, alleged pedos and sexual harassers. I love @amazonbut there is rot in Hollywood," she wrote. "Be the change you want to see in the world. Stand with truth."
In a statement given to Variety, an Amazon spokesperson said, "We are reviewing our options for our projects we have with the Weinstein Company.”
TopicsAmazon