British actress becomes fifth woman to accuse Weinstein of rape

LONDON: British actress Lysette Anthony has told police that Harvey Weinstein raped her, the Sunday Times reported, becoming the fifth woman to level such accusations against the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
The 54-year-old actress, who currently appears in British soap Hollyoaks, told Metropolitan Police last week that she had originally met Weinstein in New York, and agreed to meet him later at his rented house in London, according to the paper.
"The next thing I knew he was half undressed and he grabbed me. It was the last thing I expected and I fled," she told the Times.
Anthony, who appeared in Woody Allen's 1992 film Husbands and Wives, said that Weinstein then began stalking her, turning up unannounced at her house.
"He pushed me inside and rammed me against the coat rack," she said of the attack in the 1980s. "He was trying to kiss me and shove inside me. Finally I just gave up."
Weinstein has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled Weinstein on Saturday amid mounting accusations of sexual harassment, assault and rape.
An avalanche of claims have surfaced since the publication last week of an explosive New York Times report alleging a history of abusive behaviour by Weinstein dating back decades.
The producer's wife, English fashion designer Georgina Chapman, has said she plans to divorce him.
Weinstein's films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes, according to The Weinstein Company, which he co-founded after selling Miramax. — AFP