A-list floodgates open on Harvey Weinstein scandal as Julianne Moore, Judi Dench and others speak out

Julianne Moore, Kevin Smith and other A-listers with professional connections to Harvey Weinstein have come forward to publicly decry the producer’s alleged abuses of power and support the women whose stories of sexual harassment led to a fall from grace that saw the producer ousted Sunday from his namesake company.

Following the Thursday publication of a New York Times exposé about Weinstein’s improper conduct with employees and actresses, reaction from some quarters was swift and colorful, with the less-vulgar comments dubbing him a monster, scumbag and “old dinosaur.”

But it wasn’t until Monday that Moore, whose eight-film relationship with Weinstein’s Miramax studio bolstered her Oscar-winning career, voiced support for fellow actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, whose stories were part of the New York Times investigation.

“Coming forward about sexual abuse and coercion is scary and women have nothing to be gained personally by doing so,” Moore tweeted early Monday. “But through their bravery we move forward as a culture, and I thank them. Stand with @AshleyJudd @rosemcgowan and others.”

“I think it’s very, very distressing news to hear. I think the women who have come out are very courageous; I don’t think it’s easy,” director Todd Haynes told the New York Daily News on Sunday at the premiere of his new effort “Wonderstruck,” which stars Moore. At that event, Moore had declined to comment on the scandal.

“He financed the first 14 years of my career,” director Smith tweeted Monday, referencing Miramax-produced movies including “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma.”

Now, he continued, “I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed.”

“Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offenses which are, of course, horrifying,” Judi Dench said Monday in a statement to CNN.

Dench won an Oscar for her performance as the queen of England in Miramax’s “Shakespeare in Love” and was nominated for its “Chocolat,” “Iris” and “Mrs. Brown.”

Oscar winner Meryl Streep, who has five Miramax movies to her name, called the Weinstein scandal “disgraceful” and championed the women who came forward as “heroes” in a Monday statement to the Huffington Post.

“He’s facing his demons now,” Jeff Bridges told the Hollywood Reporter at the Sunday night premiere of “Only the Brave.” The Oscar winner’s 2014 film “The Giver” was executive produced by Weinstein. “I’m hoping that he leans into those demons and comes out the other side a richer person. I hope the best for him.”

Miles Teller, who stars in “Only the Brave,” told THR, “It’s important anywhere, any job place no woman should feel objectified, no woman should feel sexualized. It’s 2017 and we need to get over that …. It’s not cool.”

Streep, who famously referred to Weinstein as “God” during her 2012 Oscar acceptance speech for “The Iron Lady,” disavowed any prior knowledge of Weinstein’s alleged bad behavior, saying he was only “exasperating but respectful” to her.

“The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar,” she said. “Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.”

Glenn Close, who appeared in the Weinstein Company’s “Hoodwinked!” films, said in a statement confirmed by The Times that she was “deeply upset” and “for many years” had been aware of “vague rumors” that Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women.

Though he had “always been decent” to her, she said, felt “darkly sad” now that the rumors had been substantiated. She was also upset at the “casting couch” phenomenon that allowed the “awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job.”

Close said that with fewer roles out there for women, actresses are “more vulnerable to the manipulations of a predator.”

Lena Dunham and Amber Tamblyn, who were quick to tweet about Weinstein when the story broke last week, on Sunday continued sharing their derision of the producer and support for the victims. The actresses also praised the journalists who broke the story.

“Easy to think Weinstein company took swift action but this has actually been the slowest action because they always always knew,” Dunham wrote.

Tamblyn said she reached out to McGowan, whom she had been “texting, blessing and holding in my heart this week.”

“I see you. We all do,” she tweeted.

In a statement, Weinstein apologized for unspecified past behavior; however, he also blamed his conduct on coming of age “in the ’60s and ’70s, when all of the rules about behavior and workplaces were different.”

“Shameless” star Emmy Rossum wasn’t having that excuse, tweeting, “the ‘old dinosaur’ explanation doesn’t cut it. DECADES of using power to intimidate women for sexual gain is reprehensible and inexcusable.”

Actor Nathan Lane also came out as a Weinstein accuser, saying the powerhouse producer attacked him at a birthday party for Hillary Clinton in 2000 (Weinstein has been a Democratic booster for years). Lane recounted the tale during a interview at Saturday’s New Yorker Festival, Page Six said.

“This is my ... show, we don’t need you,” Weinstein allegedly told Lane as he tossed “The Birdcage” actor against a wall. To that, Lane fired back with, “You can’t hurt me, I don’t have a film career.”

Even “The Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss, whose ABC franchise trades in sexually charged male-female relationships, playfully excoriated the producer in the manner of President Trump’s derision of Hillary Clinton.

“Harvey Weinstein is a scumbag!!! And a criminal!!!! Lock him up!!!!” he wrote, adding, “Harvey Weinstein is the Bernie Madoff of sex offenders! Let them share a cell...”

Here’s what several other celebrities had to say:

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UPDATES:

3:20 p.m.: This story has been updated with comments from Glenn Close.

This article was first published at 2 p.m.