Susan Sarandon believes Hollywood hasn’t fully reckoned with the #MeToo movement.
The Oscar winner joined fellow actors Mira Sorvino and Geena Davis for a panel event Sunday in Hartford, Connecticut, where she spoke candidly about disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, according to reporting this week by People.
In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for committing a criminal sex act against a production assistant and for raping an aspiring actor in a hotel. In 2023, he was sentenced to an additional 16 years for the rape and sexual assault of an actor and model in a hotel.
The often outspoken Sarandon said on Sunday that in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, those who’ve enabled abusers continue to work in show business.
“I don’t think we’ve done the cleanup afterwards that we should be doing,” she said. “I don’t think people talk enough about the people who facilitated the Harvey Weinsteins of the world that are still functioning that are equally responsible.”
Sarandon added that these industry insiders remain employed even though they “knew when they were sending people to a hotel” or “didn’t pay attention when someone complained.”
Sarandon also noted that “it’s very confusing to be, you know, a young girl” in Hollywood and realize that executives are “checking on your viability according to how sexy you are.”
“You know that right? You do know that there’s something going on,” she said. “They call it a chemistry thing or whatever they want to call it. But that is part of what you’re bringing to the table.”
Meanwhile, Sorvino said at the event that she “stopped doing [major] studio movies” after Weinstein “stifled” her career, tearfully saying that she had “rejected him the third time” in 1998.
“But then, I got married. I became a mother,” Sorvino said. “My family is my everything and I don’t see my worth as being a famous actress. I see my worth as being a good person.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.