During the early '90s, Brad Pitt became a huge star in Hollywood. His then-girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow took a little longer to emerge, though once she did, Paltrow like Pitt entered the A-Lister club. Despite their close connection, the two didn't work in the long run. Paltrow admitted she was too young at the time, she would also state that Pitt was too good for her.
Despite the breakup, the two kept things on amicable terms and are still good friends, so much so that Paltrow shared a shocking story of Pitt defending her against one of Hollywood's most powerful men, Harvey Weinstein. She went through a very uncomfortable experience alongside the now-disgraced film producer, thankfully, Pitt had her back during the forgettable experience.
Gwyneth Was Scared To Speak Her Truth
Sadly enough, it took Paltrow years to speak about the experience. She admits to being terrified, "I was really scared," the actress said. "I think society had shown us only basically examples where women coming forward ended up not being advantageous for the woman, but I really felt like it was time."
A big reason for Paltrow finding the strength to speak was in large part, because of her daughter, "I think also having a teenage daughter that's the love of my life and worrying about her going into the workplace, and feeling like if there was ever a chance that there could be a cultural shift on this stuff, I wanted to participate in," she said. "I never could have imagined that collectively a shift this seismic would happen, but I feel proud that I have a small part in it.”
The tale goes that the two were set to meet at his hotel room for a "work meeting." That's when things got very odd. Harvey asked for a massage and in doing so, proceeded to take off his clothing. It was an uncomfortable and scary situation for the star, who thought she had ruined her career for not going through with the terrible act. Once she told her then-boyfriend about the experience, Pitt saw red.
Brad Steps In
Already an established star in Hollywood, Brad Pitt wasn't afraid of Harvey and he let it be known right away. Paltrow described the encounter in detail alongside Elle, "So what happened was I told him [Brad] right away, and I was very shaken by the whole thing. And I had two movies, I signed up to do two movies with him. I was afraid [the movies would be canceled]. And Brad Pitt, we were at the opening of Hamlet on Broadway…and Harvey was there, and Brad Pitt, it was like the equivalent of throwing him against the wall, you know, energetically. He came back and told me exactly what he said [to Harvey]. He said, ‘If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I’ll kill you,’ or something like that."
Pitt finally spoke his side of the story, stating that he was just reacting to the situation the way he normally would, "At that moment, I was just a boy from the Ozarks on the playground and that’s how we confronted things,” Pitt told Amanpour about standing up for Paltrow and confronting Weinstein. “I just wanted to make sure nothing was going to happen further, because Paltrow was going to do two [more] films [with Weinstein]. I think the interesting thing is that we, Hollywood specifically, but the workplace, men and women’s dynamics is being recalibrated, recalibrated in a very good way that is long overdue. And I do think that’s an important story to tell.”
To this day, Paltrow speaks glowingly about the encounter, she praised Pitt during her interview alongside Howard Stern, "It was the equivalent of throwing him against the wall, energetically,” Paltrow told Howard Stern about Pitt’s confrontation. “It was so fantastic because what he did was, he leveraged his fame and power to protect me at a time when I didn’t have fame or power yet. He’s the best.”
Of course, it should come as no surprise that Weinstein would issue a statement, denying all claims made by Pitt and Paltrow with Deadline, "Gwyneth Paltrow comes from Hollywood royalty … Her father was a top producer, her mother a famous actor, her godfather is Steven Spielberg. She didn’t need to make movies with Harvey Weinstein; she wanted to, and she won top awards and was the top-paid female actor for nearly a decade, with Weinstein … Her narrative of her job being at stake is just gratuitous.”
By now, fans know the now-disgraced producer was just trying to save face.
Sources: Deadline, Indie Wire, Elle & Bazaar