Meryl Streep & Jennifer Lawrence Blast Harvey Weinstein For Using Their Names In Trial Defense

Meryl Streep has responded to Harvey Weinstein‘s use of her name, along with other actresses, in his lawsuit defense.

MERYL STREEP & JENNIFER LAWRENCE BLAST HARVEY WEINSTEIN

On Tuesday, lawyers for the disgraced film producer who has been accused of sexual harassment, assault and rape by more than 100 women, argued that the class-action lawsuit against him should be dropped. In Weinstein’s defense, his attorneys argued that multiple actresses continued to work with him throughout the years. Specifically, he named Jennifer Lawrence, Gwyneth Paltrow and Streep.

“Such women would include, presumably, Jennifer Lawrence, who told Oprah Winfrey she had known Weinstein since she was 20 years old and said ‘he had only ever been nice to me,’ and Meryl Streep, who stated publicly that Weinstein had always been respectful to her in their working relationship,” the court papers read.

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“Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys use of my statement — that he was not sexually transgressive or physically abusive in our business relationship — as evidence that he was not abusive with many OTHER women is pathetic and exploitive,” Streep responded in a statement to Deadline. “The criminal actions he is accused of conducting on the bodies of these women are his responsibility, and if there is any justice left in the system he will pay for them — regardless of how many good movies, made by many good people, Harvey was lucky enough to have acquired or financed.”

Streep was under fire when Weinstein was first accused, as she stated that she had not heard about the rumors of abuse against Weinstein.

“Harvey Weinstein and his company are continuing to do what they have always done which is to take things out of context and use them for their own benefit. This is what predators do, and it must stop,” Lawrence added in a separate statement. “For the record, while I was not victimized personally by Harvey Weinstein, I stand behind the women who have survived his terrible abuse and I applaud them in using all means necessary to bring him to justice whether through criminal or civil actions. Time’s up.”