Gwyneth Paltrow was one of the many stars to speak out against Harvey Weinstein and his history of alleged sexual abuse and harassment and says she is happy to have played a small part in the recent backlash against the Hollywood producer.
In a sit-down interview with CNBC, the Oscar-winning actress told host Tania Bryer that the uprising against Weinstein is “long overdue.”
“I think it’s incredible what’s happening. I think this is long overdue,” she said. “There’s been this incredible confluence of events that’s really led to women coming together and feeling safe in numbers, to come forward and talk about their experiences across all different industries.”
RELATED: Gwyneth Paltrow Honoured At This Year’s Golden Heart Awards
Paltrow was one of the first women to talk openly about the harassment she suffered at the hands of Weinstein, telling the New York Times that the movie mogul had propositioned her when she was in her early twenties and just starting to make a name for herself in the industry.
Since the article was published, over 60 women have come forward with their own stories about Weinstein and his years of sexual abuse.
“It’s my hope that this is the beginning of something important and different, and that my daughter, when she goes into the workplace, won’t experience what you, presumably you, and I and millions of other women have had to endure,” Paltrow told Bryer.
“So it feels important and I’m happy that I have played a small part in it.”
Paltrow also talked about her relationship with her late father Bruce Paltrow and how he kept her grounded despite her worldwide fame.
“My father was really the rudder to the ship of my life,” she said. “He was very pragmatic, very funny. Scrappy, really hardworking guy.” Paltrow’s father, who died in 2002 after a battle with cancer, was a TV producer and director who directed the movie “Duets”, which starred his daughter.
She continued: “He did not grow up with money and so he was very insistent on kind of instilling us with values and work ethic and having us understand how lucky we were, and that it wasn’t by accident. That you have to work really, really hard in life.”
Paltrow took her father’s advice and hard work ethic when launching her “lifestyle brand” Goop, which she told CNBC faced criticism upon its initial launch.
“Immediately, there was a lot of ‘Why is she doing this?’ I remember once I also had a movie coming out around the same time and there was a huge article in the New York Times about why am I doing this? And I thought this seems extreme, like I’m just writing banana nut muffin recipes!”
Now it’s 2017 and Goop is an internationally renowned business that has launched its own pop-up stores and even its own magazine and wellness summit.
“It’s funny when I look back at those days in London, and I had this very secret ambition that one day I would build something that we’re on our way to building right now,” the actress proudly said.
