Harvey Weinstein’s god-like status in Hollywood prevented an aspiring British actress coming forward sooner with a claim of sexual assault, she has said after filing a lawsuit against him under sex trafficking laws.
Kadian Noble, 31, also told a press conference on Tuesday how she felt further pressured into silence after describing Weinstein’s alleged offending to an executive assistant in London.
Ms Noble said she first met the now disgraced movie mogul at a Bafta after party in London in February 2014 where he was surrounded by stars such as Naomi Campbell, Rita Ora and Oprah Winfrey.
He promised her a role but sexually assaulted her after she attempted to show him her showreel at his hotel during the Cannes Film Festival, she told the conference in New York.
Through tears, Noble claimed his influence in Hollywood and her belief it would crush her chances of success forced her into silence, but said she has been empowered by the dozens of women who have accused him of sexual assault and harassment.
“The reason why I said nothing for so long is I thought if I ever wanted an opportunity in this industry, how would small me speak of this man saying he’s been inappropriate with me, people look at me like who the hell is this girl to say this about this god or powerful influence,” she told reporters.
Noble, who has a daughter, said that after she first met Weinstein she handed her showreel to his office in London but when she met Weinstein at Cannes’ Le Majestic hotel he said they should watch it in his room because he had not seen it.
But there he assaulted her in the bathroom, groping her and forcing her to perform a sex act on him despite her protestations and her attempt to flee, according to her lawsuit filed in New York this week.
She said she saw Weinstein several times since but after the last meeting in May last year, again at Le Majestic, she told the executive assistant in London her sexual assault allegation.
The assistant “kept reassuring me that he is a good man” and said that she should write a letter to Weinstein detailing her allegations, Ms Noble said.
“It was at that point that I thought this man has so much walls built up around him and I had no chance,” she added.
But Noble, who lives in London, did not write that letter because, she said, “I felt again she was just saying whatever she needed to make me feel better”.
A spokeswoman for Weinstein, 65, said: “Mr Weinstein denies allegations of non-consensual sex. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”
Noble’s lawyer, Jeff Herman, said they would request damages “well into the millions” from Weinstein as well as his younger brother Bob Weinstein and a studio they co-founded, The Weinstein Company.
Mr Herman alleges they knew or were “in reckless disregard” of the fact that he would use force or coercion to engage in sexual activity with her.
