Harvey Weinstein would boast about receiving sexual favours from actors in order to pit women against each other, Charlize Theron has claimed in a new interview with the New York Times.

The disgraced film mogul falsely said both her and Renée Zellweger had slept with him to get film roles, Theron said, adding this was a tactic he used “a lot” to maintain a system where he could stay on top.

“[Weinstein] did that to everybody,” the actor told the newspaper.“Pitting women against each other? He was really, really good at that. There was a lot of, like, ‘Well, I’m talking to Gwyneth [Paltrow] for this movie…’

“One of his lines was that Renée [Zellweger] and I slept with him to get jobs. There was no limit to him. Even in the sexual favours, he would still pit us against each other.”

Theron’s claims follow a 2017 lawsuit filed by five women against Weinstein, which accuses him of “civil racketeering”. Actor Melissa Sagemiller alleged that Weinstein had attempted to coerce her into sex by telling her that other successful actors had previously done the same in exchange for parts.

According to the lawsuit, Weinstein allegedly told Sagemiller: “Renée Zellweger, Charlize Theron and other actresses gave sexual favours.” He then allegedly asked: “Don’t you want your career to be more than just this little teen film?” In a statement to People, Zellweger’s representative said: “If Harvey said that, he’s full of shit.”

Theron’s remarks also follow similar allegations made by actor Gwyneth Patrow, who claimed in 2017 that she had discovered Weinstein had told people they had a sexual relationship. “He’s not the person to lie about sleeping with someone, but he used the lie as an assault weapon,” Paltrow told the New York Times.

Weinstein denied these claims in a statement via his spokesperson: “Mr Weinstein vehemently denies these accusations and has never stated he slept with any of them.

“It’s ridiculous that anyone would believe these talented women, Academy Award winners, provided sexual favours in exchange for roles they earned based on their talent and brilliant work. It’s simply not true.”

Weinstein has been charged with five charges of sexual assault against two different women. The first allegedly took place in July 2006 and involved a forced oral sex act. In the second, which is alleged to have taken place in 2013, he is accused of rape. (A third charge has been dismissed.) 

The disgraced former studio mogul has entered a plea of not guilty on all counts and has denied the allegations. His trial is still yet to be fully heard and continues to have its commencement date pushed back.

Theron’s latest project, Bombshell, is a film about the sexual misconduct claims made against Roger Ailes, the late chairman of Fox News. The film is set to be released 24 January 2020.

Images: Getty