Susan Sarandon Says Hollywood Insiders Who Helped Harvey Weinstein Are Still Working Today: “I Don’t Think We’ve Done The Cleanup That We Should Be Doing”

Susan Sarandon recently spoke on the state of Hollywood post-#MeToo, saying the industry has not fully reckoned with Harvey Weinstein‘s criminal sex acts.

People reports that Sarandon spoke openly about the disgraced Hollywood mogul during a recent panel with Mira Sorvino and Geena Davis. “I don’t think people talk enough about the people who facilitated the Harvey Weinsteins of the world that are still functioning that are equally responsible, that knew when they were sending people to a hotel, who didn’t pay attention when someone complained,” she said.

Sarandon later added that “sexualization” is still “a mainstay of this business.” She added that an actress’ “viability” is based on “how sexy you are,” though the industry veils it as “chemistry.”

“There was this big flourish of this whole thing and then Harvey Weinstein, thank God was punished against all odds,” she said. “But I don’t think we’ve done the cleanup afterwards that we should be doing.”

In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to a combined 39 years in prison after he was charged with rape, forcible oral sex and sexual penetration.

Sorvino also spoke on how Weinstein impacted her career after she won an Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite in 1996.

“For a time, I had a lot of wonderful offers and then, my career was stifled by Harvey Weinstein. So, I stopped doing [major] studio movies after 1998,” she said.

She apologized to the audience when she became emotional as she recounted that she had “rejected him the third time” in 1998.

“I stopped being a viable movie actress,” she said. “I still did indies and I still did television, but that was very hard.” Sorvino added that she “didn’t know at the time what was happening” to her career but just believed that “fate was just not going on my side.”

The actress has previously spoken about how rejecting Weinstein and speaking out about their inappropriate encounters may have affected her career prospects, despite her Oscar win.

“There may have been other factors, but I definitely felt iced out and that my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it,” she told The New Yorker.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.