Meryl Streep Slams Harvey Weinstein's 'Inexcusable' Behavior and Asserts 'I Didn't Know'

Actress Meryl Streep is speaking out against frequent collaborator Harvey Weinstein amid allegations of decades of sexual misconduct.

“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,” said Streep in a statement to Huffington Post. “The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.”

The actress continued, “One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew. Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally.”

The Oscar-winner further claimed, “I didn’t know about these other offenses: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts. And If everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.”

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

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On Sunday, Harvey Weinstein was removed from his powerhouse film studio in the wake of the publication of the allegations in a New York Times report, according to Variety.

“In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company — Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar — have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately,” the Weinstein Company said in a statement.