British actress Emma Thompson has labelled Harvey Weinstein a "predator" and said the allegations against the disgraced movie mogul are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to abuse in Hollywood.
"I didn't know about these things, but they don't surprise me and they're endemic to the system anyway ??? What I find sort of extraordinary is that this man is at the top of a very particular iceberg," Thompson told BBC Newsnight about the string of allegations levelled at the former Miramax head in the wake of recent exposes.
"I don't think you can describe him as a 'sex addict'; he's a predator," she continued.
"What he's at the top of the ladder of is a system of harassment and belittling and bullying and interference, and what my mother would have referred to in the old days as 'pestering'.
"This has been part of our world, women's world, since time immemorial."
Echoing earlier calls by fellow star Jane Fonda, Thompson drew a direct line from Weinstein's behaviour to that of US President Donald Trump.
"What we need to start talking about is the crisis in masculinity, the crisis of extreme masculinity, which is this sort of behaviour, and the fact that it is not only OK but it also is represented by the most powerful man in the world at the moment," she said.
When asked by journalist Emily Maitlis if she thought there were others like Weinstein in Hollywood, Thompson replied: "Of course, many!"
"Maybe not to that degree ... [but] does it only count if you really have done it to loads and loads and loads of women? Or does it count if you do it to one woman once? I think the latter," she said.
Thompson's comments, which were trending on Twitter on Friday morning, come as more and more high-profile stars add their names to the list of women accosted by Weinstein, including model Cara Delevigne, and actresses Claire Forlani and Kate Beckinsale, who said she was propositioned by Weinstein when she was just 17.
"A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me in that first meeting. I realised he couldn't remember if he had assaulted me or not," Beckinsale wrote on Instagram.
The fallout over Weinstein's string of abuse has put the spotlight on Hollywood's tendency to turn a blind eye to such allegations, with actors Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek also revealing their own experiences of sexual harassment at the hands of industry power-players.
"I've had my ass grabbed by older, powerful men, I've had them corner me in inappropriate sexual conversations when I was much younger," Van Der Beek, the former star of Dawson's Creek, shared on Twitter.
"I understand the unwarranted shame, powerlessness and inability to blow the whistle. There's a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome," he wrote.
Crews, a former NFL star and actor on the hit sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, shared a similar story, saying "a high level Hollywood executive came over to me and groped my privates" at a Hollywood function last year.
He said the potential headlines - "240lbs black man stomps out Hollywood honcho" - and the threat of jail time dissuaded him from confronting his abuser.
"I decided not to take it further because I didn't want to be ostracised - par for the course when the predator has power and influence," he added.
"I understand why many women who this happens to let it go ... I understand and empathise with those who have remained silent," he wrote.
Emma Thompson tells us the Harvey Weinstein allegations are just the tip of the iceberg of a wider and systemic problem in Hollywood pic.twitter.com/VDxswrUP5Z??? BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) October 12, 2017
Ironically, one of those Hollywood power-players being singled out to face the music is actor Ben Affleck, who has faced sexual harassment allegations in the wake of his tweet signalling his "disgust" at the behaviour of Weinstein, with whom he worked on numerous occasions.
After actress Rose McGowan called "bulls---" on Affleck's statement, implying he long knew of Weinstein's misconduct, the actor was accused by TV star Hilarie Burton of having groped her breast during an appearance on MTV in 2003, and make-up artist Annamarie Tendler said Affleck "grabbed my ass at a Golden Globes party in 2014".
Warner Bros is now facing calls of a boycott of its forthcoming DC tentpole Justice League, which stars Affleck as Batman, just weeks before its release.
McGowan, who has had her Twitter account reinstated after it was suspended overnight, has turned her attention to Amazon head Jeff Bezos, urging the media giant to cut its ties with The Weinstein Company.
"I am calling on you to stop funding rapists, alleged pedos and sexual harassers," McGowan wrote on Twitter. "I love Amazon, but there is a rot in Hollywood."
Hollywood publications reported on Friday that Amazon Studios was "reviewing" its involvement in two forthcoming Weinstein Company series - an untitled drama from Oscar winner David O. Russell, starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore, and The Romanoffs from Mad Men creator Matt Weiner - following concerns from staff within the company.
Various shows, including Netflix's Peaky Blinders, have opted to scrub The Weinstein Company's name from their credits, while Apple axed a planned 10-part biopic on Elvis Presley from the company.
